


Fallen Angels and Rising Demons

by MysticMoonhigh



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anal Sex, Apocalypse, Christmas, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fun, Gamer!Cas, Gaming AU, Hand Job, M/M, MMORPGs, Masterbation, Oral Sex, Phone Sex, Picnics, Renaissance, SCA - Freeform, Sassy!Castiel, blowjob, christmas in july, elevator issues, everyone's a fucking nerd, fallen-angel apocalypse, guilding, handjobs, knighthood, mechanic!Dean, mentions of Sam/Lucifer, steady relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-06 02:56:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 70,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1841695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticMoonhigh/pseuds/MysticMoonhigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester plays games online; no, he's not a dork. Yeah, some of them may have *some* affiliation with dungeons and dragons, so sue him.  When somebody offers to pay him to play a new game, “Angel/Demon Allies”, it takes an unexpected turn when he's paired with a random angel.He has no choice in his partnership, and worst of all, he can't play alone. That means that to keep his extra income,he has to get along with this "blue-eyed-fallen-angel".<br/>In doing so, he might end up with more than he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this first chapter yesterday. For once, this won't be scheduled updating. 
> 
> This is based off of the fallen-angel apocalypse on tumblr, started by awkward-fallen-angel. If you enjoy this fic, you'll love the stuff she posts, and you should follow her. 
> 
> If you'd like to follow me, I'm Mystic-Fallen-Angel right now. I may change back to MysticMoonhigh eventually, I don't know. 
> 
> My knowledge of gaming is based off of Dragonfable, the youtube series The Guild, and Angel Alliance, which I started playing yesterday and have found that I like. None of these are exactly like either of the games I describe. In fact, I don't know of a game that automatically matches you up with a partner.
> 
> Somebody should get on that.
> 
> Anyways, read and review and kudos, please!

Dean walked lazily through his apartment door, exhausted from a long day at the shop. He'd had to change eleven people's oil before lunch. Eleven. If you think oil changing would be interesting, you try doing the exact same thing to different cars at least ten times a day. It barely kept him sated; he wished his boss would move him up to more complicated jobs already, but he knew that Bobby was just testing him. He hired Dean on only with the knowledge that Dean wasn't going to act like he deserved special treatment. 

Clearly, he had went through on his promise to treat Dean the same as (or worse than) all the other mechanics.

Of course, Bobby had been like a father to Dean since he was seven. He would get lots of flack from the other guys if he were to act like Dean were his pet. In fact, Bobby had informed Dean that they could technically take legal action against him if he let his outside relationships interfere with his work. Bobby's words, not Dean's.

Now, Dean was getting more than he bargained for. It would be worth it, though. He had finally gotten out of his desk job and into one that he actually enjoyed; fixing cars. This? This actually mattered to him. Of course, oil change after oil change wasn't what he had in mind originally, but... he'd make due. He always had.

The smell of old pizza clung to the carpet (partially Dean's fault) and mysterious stains splattered the walls (not Dean's fault) of his ran down apartment, and he flinched. He really needed to clean in here. He didn't have much to work with, but he could at least make it look a little bit presentable. 

He kicked aside a towel laying in his floor, (He did have one nice thing to say-- this place had amazing water pressure for being such a dump) giving a frustrated sigh. He wasn't usually this dirty, but he'd been busy lately.

Mainly because he'd discovered online gaming a year ago.

It wasn't like he was a geek or a nerd or a dork; no, he just enjoyed the occasional video game. That wasn't shameful. It was no different than halo, except... More roleplaying, it took place on the computer, and you had more interactions with other players. He'd quickly climbed to the top of the brackets in several gaming hotspots, and his name was getting pretty big. Well, in roleplay gaming, that is. 

He slumped down in the chair and grabbed his laptop, plugging in the cord immediately. It had a crap charger and the battery didn't hold, and Dean would be damned if it quit on him while he was about to defeat some evil sons a bitches again. 

Last time, he'd lost the battle miserably. He hadn't been able to do anything other than clumsily reach for his charger as the troll had slaughtered him while his screen was black. 

It had been humiliating.

He signed onto his typical game, and he was enthusiastically greeted by his guild mates. 

“Hey there stud muffin.” Jo greeted. Well, her screen name was “the-Joster”, but she had regretfully informed the guild one night that she had picked out the name when she was eight. She had been playing the game for nine years; the youngest of them, seventeen. Dean himself was ten years older than her; twenty seven. 

“Hey there Jo. What's happening?” He asked. He teleported to where the rest of them stood, and he found that he didn't recognize the terrain. Clearly, he had missed something important.

“Ash hacked the game and got us to the level that's not been released yet.” She announced. Dean's fingers stopped moving over the keypad.

“Couldn't our accounts get suspended for that?” He questioned. Jo and Ash laughed together over the other end, slowly dying off as it faded into snickers. Dean slashed as he saw something come at him; he was a human fighter, and therefore the first in line to fight in any altercation. 

“Honey, clearly you've not been at this long. You've come a long way in skills in the past year, but you don't know our etiquette.” Jo stated. Dean was listening, but he was also trying to kill the zombie that had just wandered its way into his sight. “They don't usually ban you for getting the new levels, as long as you keep it in the guild. Not to mention that Ash could just unban all of us if they did.”

“Good. Hey, if they did ban our accounts, would somebody else be able to get our screen names? There are lots of people in this game who'd love to have people think they were as good as us.” Dean said. He meant it; their guild was small with only four people (Charlie had to work late today), but he was fiercly proud of them and everything they had accomplished. Doors swung open for him, if only virtually. 

Opportunities online were so much easier to come by. 

Dean slashed again, finally decapitating the dang thing. Unfortunately, he turned around to see Ash and Jo getting swamped by zombies. Well, that would explain why the mic went dead.

He charged forward, swinging his blade at the mighty beasts. He cut one off of Jo, and she immediately turned and shot a spell at the one advancing behind it. Ash had somehow managed to fight his way out of the choke hold the zombie had had on him. He shot a couple of fireballs at it, and then fell back, waiting for his big lightning attack to charge up. While Dean's blade was enchanted, he hadn't really seen the appeal in learning to use magic. Sure, it came in handy in a fight, but they already had two magic users on the team, and Charlie was their healer. What they really needed (why they found Dean in the first place) was a fighter.

So, a fighter Dean would be. Saving his companions, hunting things, that was the Guild Business.

Of course, he'd earned his rightful spot alongside them. When the gaming group had found out that they were going to form a guild, with three of the top players, they had eagerly hosted a tournament to see who would be the most noble fighter to join them. There were thousands of people in the tournament, but it was Dean's day off and he'd been bored. Killing person after person had been fun as hell. 

Out of it, he'd gotten three of the best friends he could ever hope for. 

He slashed more at the wall of zombies, fighting hard for their freedom. He hit at wave after wave, slashing skull after skull. He took out easily as much as the other members, even without the use of magical assistance. This was what he lived for. It had really helped him through when he had that desk job.

Finally, they subsided, leaving the path clear. Dean charged forward into the unexplored land, and Ash and Jo followed right behind him. 

“No, they can't do that.” Jo finally answered. It took Dean a minute to remember what he had asked her in the first place, and he nodded when he finally had, forgetting again that they couldn't actually see him. 

“So our user names would be safe?” He asked. He looked fondly down at his own, simply, “TheHunter”. Ash's screen name was ashes-to-ashes, and Jo's has, of course, already been gone over. She probably wouldn't mind all too much if someone else took her user name. 

“Yeah. If not, it would be mayhem.” She said. All conversation ceased again as they took on another wave of zombies, Jo almost dying in the process.

“Whoa, they're really amping up their game!” Jo exclaimed. Dean heard a whoosh through the microphone that he assumed was Jo pumping her fist in the air in triumph, “I was so sick of the small fries they were sending us. I mean, a dwarf isn't as hard to take down as you'd think. Not to mention that I'd had quite enough dragons.”

“Hey, the dragons are cool.” Dean defended. He could almost hear Jo rolling her eyes at him.

“Yeah yeah yeah, save it for the dungeons. This is an above ground level; and I for one am sick of taking on the same thing over and over again. This right here is what I find interesting.” She said, taking another zombie down. Dean chuckled, reaching up briefly to adjust his headphones. 

Half an hour later, they were standing at the boss level. Jo had to be revived twice, (Charlie had finally signed on, thank god) and Ash once. Dean was down to half health, and it was getting bad. 

“Alright guys, you wanna handle this later?” Jo asked. Dean gave a sigh.

“I guess, if you guys want to.” He said. Really, though, he didn't want to. It was only six thirty, and he didn't think he could entertain himself for the three and a half hours he had before he would be able to fall asleep. There was nothing good on television, and he really wasn't in the mood for watching porn right now. Of course, he had to be understanding. Not everyone could have the relaxed lifestyle he did after work.

Of course, “relaxed lifestyle” was Dean's way of denying to himself the fact that he was in desperate need of some friends. He had been becoming more and more socially cut off ever since he graduated high school, and now the only interaction he got was with his brother and his coworkers. Not that he had anything against his coworkers, of course, but he needed to get out with somebody who he wasn't forced to spend the day with either way. He hadn't had a date in over two years, and his brother was starting to hound him about social interaction. He loved his brother to death, but it was annoying as hell. 

“I have to go. I'll see you.” Ash said, logging off.

“Bye, guys.” Charlie said, following his lead.

“Later losers.” Jo said. Suddenly, Dean was alone. 

He stared at the screen for a couple of seconds before he gave a deep sigh, pressing his own log off button. He was reaching for the remote, hoping to do some channel surfing or find Doctor Sexy MD, when he noticed something odd. Looking down at his computer, he saw that there was a small one next to his email icon.

He almost never got an email, unless it was news from the site. His stomach dropped to his feet. Oh god, what if they had caught them and were going to suspend all of their accounts? 

He nervously clicked on the icon, praying that his suspicions were incorrect. 

“Congradulations, TheHunter. You have been selected to beta a new game we like to call “Angel/Demon Alliance”! You'll slay the Supernatural, battle the forces of evil, all while allying yourself with other players from around the globe. We've selected one hundred prime players to help us detect bugs, fix problems, and generally enhance game play. Of course, if you find yourself inclined to help, we'll reward you by rembersing you for your time. You'll be paid $400-$800 dollars at the end of the six month beta period, mailed to your residence.” The letter read.

Dean stared at it in shock. Well, maybe it's a scam? He thought, frowning. He spotted the official logo of the makers of the game he played with Jo and Ash, though, and he knew that it wasn't. He wondered; were the others getting the same offer as him? 

Well, maybe it still was a virus? He glanced at the time, remembering how much free time he had tonight. Yeah, it could be a virus, but he had antivirus on his computer, and a lot of free time to kill. And it may not be the most productive way to earn money, but he needed the cash.

In a split decision, he clicked the link. He watched as the game slowly loaded, and then flinched as the ominous music started blaring through his headphones. He reached forward and turned down the volume, and when he turned back, the screen had morphed into a basic information fill out sheet. Dean dutifully filled in all of the information, giving a fake phone number and his PO box rather than his actual address. 

Then, it took him to the next page, where he had to customize his character. The very first thing that popped up was, “Please choose your race” in bold letters. He looked between the two options. Fallen angels, or rising demons. That was odd, wasn't it usually the other way around? 

He shrugged, clicking on the second option. It brought up a character page, with tons of cool weaponry and wing designs. He went for some cool dragon wings that reminded him of leather that had been worn and torn, and a dog collar around his neck. Hey, might as well go for sexy, right? After all, he was no angel. Hehe, that was good. He should use that one.

Then again, that was probably one of those things that sounded a lot better in your head than it did out loud. 

After he finished customizing his horns, he continued on to the next page, choosing his character name. He put in simply, “Hunter”, deciding to drop the “the” for this. The only reason he'd added it in the other game was because just plain hunter was already taken. If he was part of the beta in this game, he could assume he would have his pick of any username he wanted. 

The game continued, though he noticed that it had tagged on “-rising-demon” to his user name, so it would read “hunter-rising-demon”. He supposed he was cool with that; the rising demons did sound pretty cool. 

Finally, he was done filling out the information, so the opening could start. “Waiting for angel, please be patient” flashed across the screen, and he frowned. He wondered if that was what it displayed every time it was loading, or if it was only for this particular screen. 

Maybe they had designed an in-game angel friend to go along with the people who chose demons, like a virtual pet to help you out in battles and stuff? That sounded pretty cool.

Finally, the screen went dark. A tearful girl with large breasts and too much skin showing came on the screen, her eyes wide with fear. “Please, you have to help us. My name's Arya, and I'm an angel who's been taken captive by the werewolves. There are demons here, too. I know it will be difficult, but you two have to unite to help save us! Please, if you don't get here soon, they're going to kill all of us! Angel and demon must walk hand in hand for the betterment of both species.” She announced. Words popped up on the screen again.

“You have been assigned to an angel. This is a real, active online player, like yourself. His screen name is “Blue-Eyed-Fallen-Angel”, and you'll have to work with him to complete your missions. You'll need to work out hours when you can play together; unless you're assigned single missions for game play, you won't be allowed to progress in the game without the other online, helping you battle. We're connecting your speakers now.” Dean's eyebrow raised.

Well then, this just got a hell of a lot more interesting. Knowing the people who picked angels, he could have gotten assigned a slamin' hot chick. Though having to work around each other's schedules would certainly suck, Dean found he was open to the idea of a partner permanently. Playing games alone could get lonely and boring. 

He clicked the arrow to go to the next screen. It gave him a loading sign for a few moments, and he reached up to grab a swig of a beer that had been sitting on the table. He made a face; it had probably been out for awhile. Reminding himself never to do that again, he turned back to the computer. 

“Talk to your angel!” flashed across the screen. Dean cleared his throat, making sure his voice was low and seductive for whatever beauty he'd been paired up with.

“Well hello there, angel. Can I ask if it hurt when you fell from heaven?” He flirted, smirking. There was a pause on the other end, and he wondered briefly if the internet had gone out. He checked the connection in the corner of the screen, seeing that it was indeed strong.

“Did it hurt you when you broke through the earth's crust ascending from hell?”


	2. Sam's Announcement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really overwhelmed by the amount of response this got! Thanks, you guys!
> 
> I accidentally used an actual URL somebody has for Castiel's screen name. blueeyed-fallen-angel. So theirs is lacking a dash, but it's the same basic principal. Shout out to them for not being angry. If you feel like it, check out their blog. 
> 
> I would like to apologize in advance for how simply boring this chapter is. I'm sorry.

A male voice. A deep, gravely, monotone male voice that had Dean absolutely speechless. He'd been expecting a woman, not Morgan Freeman's nephew. 

“That's... That's funny.” He managed to choke out, laughing a bit. “Listen dude, I'm sorry about that. I was expecting a chick.” He admitted sheepishly. 

“It's fine. I was expecting someone who wouldn't use a pick up line we've all heard a thousand times on a female who he's never met before. I'm sure we'll both adjust.” The gravelly voice said. Dean let out a sigh. Oh boy, his new partner had sass. This wasn't going to turn out well at all.

“Okay, buddy. Easy there. Let's just get to playing the game.” He announced, hovering over the button to start the next little bit of the tutorial. He heard a mumble of agreement and clicked the button, waiting for the man on the other side to do the same. 

Once he had, the screen faded to black again, and Arya was back. Dean pursed his lips as he tried to pay attention to her monologue. “We're in someplace dark. My grace was barely strong enough to send this message in the first place. If I had to guess, I'd say we're somewhere in Montana. If you can make it here before sunrise, not too much will be lost. I have faith in you two to save us all.” She announced.

The screen flashed again, and Dean saw his character. He heard a small click, and knew that the microphone had been turned on again. He thought about saying something to his partner, but he knew small talk would sound quite boring after their earlier exchange. For once, Dean Winchester, was at a loss for words. 

The silence seemed smothering as he figured out the controls, slashing a few trees. He saw that they were somewhere in Nevada, and his brow creased. “How the hell are we supposed to get to Montana in time?” He questioned out loud, not thinking about the microphone.

“Angels have powers that demons don't. Weren't you paying attention to the game play tutorial?” 

The voice made him jump, and he cleared his throat. “Honestly, I fast forwarded through most of it.” He admitted.

“Okay. Well, there are two ways you can get there. You can leave the body you designed for yourself and possess someone new, presumably in Montana, or I can teleport both of us there through flight. It would drain my batteries a little, but since there are two of us, I don't think it would be that much of an issue.” The man said. Dean nodded his head, considering the options. He was sort of grateful that his partner hadn't been a prude about listening to the game tutorial; some people acted like you were the scum of the earth if you wanted to figure things out on your own.

“That sounds great. I'd rather not lose my smokin' hot body, after all.” Dean said, smirking. His partner paused, and Dean realized how many ways that could be taken.

“Was that a flirtation?” Sounded, curiosity in the other man's voice. Dean froze up, and another awkward silence fell over their party.

“I-uh, no.” Dean finally choked out. Silence again had him briefly worried, until there was a light chuckle. 

“You'll have to forgive me then, I don't get out much. I suppose that could have impaired my ability to pick up on social cues.” The voice on the other end spoke, and Dean found himself focusing more on the sound than the actual words. 

Dean Winchester is entirely straight. But he had to admit that that voice had to be the most entrancing thing he had ever heard.

“Of course. I just-- I actually have the tendency to put my, uh, put my foot in my mouth, so...” Dean began. His eyes flickered from where they had been staring nervously at the floor back to the computer screen, to see that they were in an entirely new area. He quickly started walking, seeing his angel partner was several yards ahead of him. Head in the game, Winchester, He reminded himself. “It was probably my fault. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

“I am utterly indifferent to sexual orientation. It didn't make me uncomfortable, just slightly confused. Now, are we going to form a battle strategy?” The other man asked. “I've used “angel radio” to talk to the woman in trouble, and she said that somebody else in the building knows what street they're on. It's near here.” 

“Of course. Why don't... Why don't we go and check everything out first?” Dean proposed, trying to keep his head on straight. He was still trying to get over all of the piles of awkward he felt right now. God, maybe Sam was right and he did need to get out with more? If he started acting like this around women, he was never going to get laid again.

“Survey the area. Good thinking, Hunter.” The other man purred. Dean paused, uncertain. Instead of commenting on it, he decided to silently follow the other player, creeping along in the bushes. He hadn't even noticed how close they had gotten to the house.

Then, something dawned on him. The other man had called him Hunter. What was that supposed to mean? Did he want to be called by his screen name? Dean didn't think he'd do well saying “blue-eyed” all the time; it could sort of be a mouth full.

“Hey, what do you want me to call you? I mean, I would just go with your screen name, but “blue-eyed” is a bit much to say. Anything else you'd be okay with?” Dean questioned.

“Well, you seemed so convinced that I fell from heaven, how about we just go with 'Angel'.” Angel said. Dean winced at his earlier mistake.

“Um, well... Okay.” He relented. It would feel a little awkward calling another man 'angel', but he supposed it didn't matter in the long run. After all, it was his species. Fair choice.

“So, angel, what have we got?” Dean asks. He looks towards the house from where they hide, seeing several dogs pacing in front of the door. The house looks fairly normal, but he's sure that Angel knows what he's doing. There is a silence as they both asses the situation, and suddenly, it strikes Dean that it's actually sort of nice to have somebody else to help on a mission that isn't a guild one. A second pair of eyes was nice.

After a full minute of nothing but dogs pacing, Dean decides to speak up again. “I don't think they have the place guarded. I mean, It would make sense to give us an easy mission first swing around.”

“I don't believe that's the case. Do you have the silver knife they start demons out with equipped to your character?” Castiel asks. Dean checks his inventory quickly, seeing that they did, in fact, give him a silver knife. 

He decides that it may be a good idea in the future to pay attention to the tutorials.

“Well, I do now. You ready to go tango, then?” Dean asked. He still wasn't entirely sure why he needed the knife, but it felt comforting knowing that anything having the nerve to mess with him would get totally demon-shanked. He will deny ever thinking those words.

“I suppose we've got a mission to complete.” Angel says flatly, coming out from behind the bush. His angel blade is steady in his hand as he paces forward a few steps. Dean starts hearing the battle music, and his brow furrows. The only things around are still the stupid dogs, where the hell is the enemy?

His question is answered when one of the dogs surges forward, knocking his character to the ground. He hits the stab button, slams down on it like his life depends on it, but the dog has already grabbed his character's arm. His life is going down as the dog finally releases, having taken a blow himself. Dean notices the angel standing over him, blade out. It clicks that he had delivered the blow that caused the dog to retreat.

“I suppose you need some help?” He asks. Dean's eyes are wide; he's never gotten taken off guard like that before. For some reason he can't quite comprehend, it feels almost... embarrassing. 

“Yeah, thanks.” He replies. He quickly stands his character up, ready for the fight. He wasn't about to get embarrassed by some low-level pups, he needed to fight for himself. This was just like taking on orcs. Only, more bark.

Dean lunges forward with his knife and the dog falls down. One of them lunges at him again, and there goes the second. A third goes for the blue-eyed-fallen-angel, but finds itself impaled on the angel blade. Dean has to give Angel credit; he probably wouldn't have been able to pull off that move. 

“You ready to go rescue the captured?” Dean asks. 

“There may be more skin walkers.” Angel warns. Dean feels his eyebrows when they scrunch up.

“What?” He questions, feeling a little dense.

“Well, what did you think we were facing? Werewolves would have come across as wolves and shape shifters would have taken a more powerful form. That means, according to Western folklore, the only real candidate is a skin walker. That's why I asked if you had your knife; silver is one of the only things that kills them. I'm lucky the angel blade worked.” Cas said. Dean stared at his computer, absolutely dumbfounded.

“I guess you came prepared for this game.” Dean said. He could practically hear the smirk in his partner's voice when he next spoke.

“Let's go and save the captives, shall we?” He offered. Dean gave a sigh and started moving his character again, close and closer to the house. He opened the door, prepared for something more to come rushing out at him, and he was relieved when he found that nothing did. He was still wary as he walked slowly towards what he assumed would be the basement. He pried the door open.

His steps creaked as he walked down the stairs. He felt immersed in the game; it wasn't his character walking down those steps, it was him. Finally, he spotted it. A human standing in the corner. Battle music started up again as the man turned around, and Dean saw a small window with words pop up.

“Ah, I see they sent in reinforcements. An angel and a demon, what an odd pair. It's no matter. You'll never get past the leader of the pack.” He announced. Dean felt his agitation rise; there was nothing he hated more than the self-absorbed assholes who thought they were gods. He was always eager to spill their blood. 

“Just try and stop me.” He said out loud.

“You do realize that he can't actually hear you, correct?” Asked the second voice. Dean was torn between being annoyed and happy to talk to somebody new. Usually, it was just him alone, or his guild. And the guild had been getting more and more out of touch, torn apart by their crazy lives.

“Yeah, Angel. It just helps me concentrate. It's a role play game for a reason.” Dean explained, not unkindly. 

“Okay. Do you believe it would increase my game play skills if I were to partake in the role playing?” Angel asked. Dean almost snorted; he could tell already that this guy was a character, and they hadn't even been talking for more than twenty minutes. 

“Maybe. I don't know.” Dean said. He was honestly curious as to how this man would go about actually immersing himself. “You should give it a shot.”

“Let my people go. You can't do this to us. You will go down.” Angel threatened. As soon as his words ended, the man on the screen stopped talking, and his health bar showed. 

Good timing, thought Dean. He immediately slashed at the boss with the knife, and he went down on his knees. As Dean came back, he rose up again. Dean glanced up to the health bar to see that he was already 1/3rd of the way down. Dean was right about them being given an easy mission for their first task.

“Take this, you assbutt.” Angel shouted, shoving the angel blade in. The health bar dropped again as Cas backed up, but then raised a bit, as though the enemy had healed himself. 

“...Assbutt?” Asked Dean. “Did you really just say that?” He questioned.

He heard an uncomfortable shifting on the other end. “I suppose I need to work on my insults.”

Dean couldn't help the laugh that tore out of him. He clutched at his stomach as he let it all out, smiling broadly. There were practically tears in his eyes; it had been awhile since he'd laughed so hard. He didn't know where this guy got that from, but it had certainly just made his day.

“No, that's great. You should keep it.” He said, once his laughter had died down.

“I'm detecting hints of sarcasm. Would I be correct?” Angel asked. Dean shook his head, not answering. Glancing back up at the screen, he saw that Angel had already taken down the boss, despite the fact that it would have taken a significantly larger amount of blows from the angel blade.

Arya showed up on the screen, prompting them to get the keys from the boss. Angel and Hunter were both quiet again as they retrieved the keys and found the cage in which they were keeping the prisoners. Dean opened the door and let them out, standing to the side as the screen was filled with demons and angels stalking out of the room. 

“I think there's something more going on here.” One of them said. Dean watched as one of the demons took one of the angel's hands, an offer of peace. 

“We have to get to the bottom of it. If we don't, they could bring down heaven and potentially hell.” One of the demons put in. “I know your kind has hated ours for centuries, but we need to work together for once, for the good of all.” It announced. 

A general murmur of agreement sounded.

Just then, the save screen popped up. Dean pushed it, as it prompted, and heard a click through the speakers as Castiel did the same. 

“Listen, I have to go. I have prior commitments. Are you free at the same time tomorrow to continue game play?” Castiel asked. Dean glanced at the clock, and was surprised to see that an entire hour had somehow gone by. He shook his head to clear it.

“Yeah, of course. See you then, Angel.” He said, rubbing a hand across his face. He could make it now; he would just watch one of the Lord of the Rings movies and it would be late enough to go to bed.

“Goodbye, Hunter.” Angel said. Dean might have been imagining things, but he thought he heard a smile in the other's voice. Oh well, he didn't want to think about it right now. He popped in the movie and shut down his laptop, going to the fridge to pull out a beer that didn't taste like death. Soon, he was nodding off as he watched the characters fight to get the ring to Sargon.

He faded off into sleep as the credits rolled, not bothering to switch to the bed.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, a knock on the door woke him up.

His eyes widened as he jumped from the couch, forgetting for a moment why he had been there in the first place. He gave a soft sigh as he sat up, rubbing his eyes to try and get the sleep out of them. Checking the time, he saw that he still had an hour and a half before he had to go to work. 

He quickly rose as the knocking persisted, and he gave a small groan of annoyance. At this time in the morning, the only one who would come and visit him unannounced was his little brother. 

Don't get Dean wrong; he loved Sam, and he loved it when he visited. The only problem was that he was constantly trying to convince Dean to get out more. Dean had been out plenty, (granted most of it was with Sam himself) and didn't need babysat about it. He would get out with his friends when he damned well pleased, and Sam just didn't want to let the issue go. Dean was happy being a social recluse. 

“Dean!” Sam said, once the door was opened. Dean had half a mind to close it and go back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't really do that to his brother. Well, unless he was being super annoying. 

He let Sam come in, reluctantly returning the hug that was given. Once he did, though, he found it hard to let go. He, as much as he wouldn't have admitted it, really missed having his brother around. Sure when they had shared an apartment space had been tight and Dean had gotten annoyed with all the salad in his fridge, but Sam was his best friend. Not to mention that, once he had moved in with Jess, Dean hadn't been able to afford their old apartment on his own. Which, of course, landed him in this place.

“I've missed you.” Sam said. 

“Dude, enough with the chick flick moments. No wonder you ended up with a girlfriend before me.” Dean announced, pulling back from the hug. Sam rolled his eyes, and Dean smiled a little bit. 

“Actually, that's what I came here to tell you. By the way, your place is a wreck.” Sam threw in, looking at the discarded beer cans. Dean reminded himself that he really needed to clean up before his landlord came and saw the mess. He decided that he would have to do it tonight, as soon as he got home. Which, of course, meant he would have to bail on guild. 

“What did you want?” Dean asked, hoping to steer Sam off the subject of cleaning. Sam and Jess had been getting more and more serious over the four years they had been dating. Dean was happy to see his brother with someone he cared about so much. He was really in love with this girl.

“Well, she's sort of not my girlfriend anymore.” Sam said. Dean's eyes widened as he felt shock go through him first, chased shortly after by sympathy and confusion. “Because now she's my fiance.” 

“Oh.” Dean said flatly. Okay, now that made more sense. “So, you guys finally decided to tie the knot?”

“Yeah.” Sam said, quietly. He looked up at Dean from where he was now sitting, and his eyes were serious as he stared. Dean was reminded of when they were younger; when Sam had to look up at him, instead of the reverse. So much had changed since then. “The reason I wanted to tell you about it, is because I wanted you to be my best man.” 

Dean feels a million emotions go through him at once. Mostly pride and joy. Some of them were a little more like confusion and stress, but it was mostly good. He nodded his head slowly, letting the words sink in. His little brother was getting married, and wanted him to be the best man. It was a lot for a guy to take in before breakfast even started.

“That's... Sam, I'm honored.” He said, truthfully. “Is there anything I need to do?”

“Just, find a date for the wedding, normal stuff. If you decide to do the bachelor party, no strippers.” Sam said, looking at Dean firmly. “You have to wear a tie, and you have to show up. Other than that, it's entirely up to you.” Sam announced. Dean nodded his head slowly.

The suit would be inconvenient, but he could deal with it. No strippers was disappointing, but he expected Sam to be entirely free of fun. Showing up? He was already planning to do that anyway. That means the only problem he would have is finding a date.

“So, uh... When is the big day?” He questions. 

“Six months from now. We haven't picked out one exactly, but she wants a Winter wedding.” Sam elaborated. Dean nodded his head, taking it all in. Sam stood up again, dusting his hands off on his pants. “Well, I'm sure you need to get ready for work. I just wanted to stop by and give you a heads up.” 

“Yeah. Uh, thanks.” Dean said, nodding his head. Sam nodded back, grabbing the door and swinging it open. He walked through and pulled it shut behind him, leaving Dean alone with his thoughts. 

Today was going to be a long day.


	3. Dean's Never Been Punctual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just time to ask again that you leave reviews and kudos, and thank all of you for the amount of response that this story has gotten so far! I'm trying to update it as fast as humanly possible for you guys, so enjoy chapter 3~. Just a little warning; I haven't actually written the next chapter yet, but there will be some suggestive themes in the next couple of them. Nothing too inappropriate.

When Dean finally got home from work the next day, he gave a frustrated sigh. He walked forward and into the kitchen, dropping to his hands and knees in front of the sink. He rummaged through the cabinet directly underneath it, finally finding his garbage bags there. Once he had them there, he took one out and put the rest back, turning around and beginning his journey.

 

He put beer bottles, tissues, anything that he found to be cluttering up his house, he threw into the bag. When he was done with the kitchen and the living room he moved to the bedroom, making a face at the piles and piles of clothes and blankets and towels that were laying haphazardly in the floor. Once he was done with the trash, he marched back into his room with a hamper, grabbing handfuls of clothes and shoving them to the bottom of the hamper, finding that it was already full before he was halfway done with the room. He set the hamper in the corner and moved on to folding the blankets and putting everything back where it went. His alarm clock back on the dresser, condoms that had somehow fallen out of the drawer replaced...

 

When he was done, it looked halfway decent. So, he decided that the rest of it could be handled later. He picked up his laundry and swooped out the door, headed towards the bottom floor laundry room. He still had some change in his pocket left over from getting a Soda at work today, so he'd be able to was his clothes.

 

He put his hand against the closing elevator doors just as they started to shut, stopping the descent. They slowly reopened to reveal an almost empty elevator, only occupied by one other person. Dean quickly stepped in, carrying his laundry in his large hamper, which he had both hands wrapped around.

 

“Basement, please.” He told the other. The man pushed the button and stepped back into the corner, but Dean didn't miss his eyes curiously flicker up. He had dark black, messy hair and bright blue eyes, with worry lines and bags under them, as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep recently. He had a trench coat slung around his shoulders, which were broad and defined. He looked like he needed to get a hold of his razor, but Dean wasn't one to criticize that. He self consciously raised a hand up to his own scruff.

 

“Bye.” He said dumbly, as he went out of the elevator. He felt stupid for how lame and generic it was, but the other simply nodded his head in acknowledgment, pressing the first floor button.

 

Dean had seen the man around a couple of times; carrying in groceries or politely chatting with the old woman that ran the place. She wasn't technically the landlord, but she had a lot of say in who stayed, and Dean liked her a lot. She was sweet; Dean was happy to see somebody talking with her.

 

He slung his laundry in, depositing the coin. He almost dropped it as he put it in, but quickly recovered, earning a small scoff from the person putting in their own laundry, across the isle. There were only four washers and four dryers, so there wasn't a lot of room between them Dean recognized her, of course; Lisa was her name. He had had a brief fling with her a little while ago, but it hadn't worked out. She wanted somebody in a more professional business, and Dean could understand that. After all, she was trying to get out of these apartments; meeting somebody here wouldn't do her any good.

 

Then again, now, Dean would be getting out sometime. Eventually. When he finally saved up enough money to make the down payment on a new place.

 

He checked the time once his clothes were in, satisfied to see that it was only five o'clock. He had gotten home early that day, so if he headed upstairs now, he would have time to get on and see his Guild.

 

“Hey, Dean?” Asked Lisa as he turned away. He froze on the spot, flinching at her tone of voice. If this took too long, he would lose his opportunity to meet with his friends. He knew that if it wasn't important, though, she wouldn't have asked. So, instead of pretending like he hadn't heard her or telling her he was busy, he turned back towards her and leaned on the washing machine.

 

“Do you think you could watch Ben tonight? My work called in and my partner got super sick. You can just turn on a movie and let him watch that, I don't expect you to entertain him, but... It's an emergency, and if I go I'll get paid double.” Lisa explained. Dean nodded his head enthusiastically.

 

“Of course. I never mind hanging out with Ben.” He said. He knew that Ben had an account on the gaming site he had been using, so he could just get him to bring his laptop and they could hang out together. He'd never told Ben who he actually was on the game before, but he didn't think it would really matter. Ben would be happy to (temporarily) join their guild, and he knew the others would be happy to have him.

 

“Thank you, thank you so much!” She announced. She surged forward and hugged Dean, her breasts pushing up against his chest. He pretended not to notice, hugging her back. He was pretty sure that Lisa still had a thing for him, but he had decided that he didn't want to get involved with her. He thought of her more as a friend than as a permanent relationship. He wasn't quite sure why; it was just a vague feeling that he had, like she just wasn't _right._

 

She pulled away, and he nodded. “So, would you like to just send him over to my place? Tell him to bring his laptop, we're probably gonna play a game together.”

 

She nodded her head eagerly, breathing out a sigh of relief again. Dean could tell she had been stressed out lately, and he was glad to help her. She and him had been close at one point.

 

“Okay, he'll be there in ten minutes. Just don't give him any alcohol and send him back around midnight, that's when I'll be home. Thanks again, Dean, you're a life saver.” She praised. Dean nodded to himself as she sprinted up the stairs. He never understood what was up with her and never using the elevator, but he supposed it had something to do with how in-shape she had to keep for her job.

 

One thing to be said for Lisa was that she had the best body of _any_ of the girls Dean had been with, so far. She was absolutely amazing in bed. She could practically put her entire leg behind her head; her _entire leg._ Dean missed the sex; it had been awhile since he'd gotten laid. He shook his head to dismiss the thought.

 

If he was thinking about partners he'd had a _year_ ago, he probably needed to get laid soon. Dean made a small mental note to take care of himself later.

 

He got in the elevator again, pressing his floor and waiting for the doors to shut. Once he was upstairs and back in his room he started to set up. His laptop was set on the table, his charger at the ready, (he didn't want to keep it plugged in  _ all _ the time, because it would make the battery even worse than it already was) and he grabbed a couple of sodas to set on the table. 

 

His computer was just starting up when there was a knock at the door. Dean rose, putting on a smile as he pulled it open. Ben stood on the other side, hair disheveled, looking happy and bright as ever. Dean was happy as hell to get to see him again; he always missed the little guy. Ben reminded him of himself when he was that younger.

 

“Hey dude. Are we gonna listen to some ACDC?” Ben questioned, leaning around the door and looking at Dean's ever-growing pile of CDs sitting in the corner. They were the only part of his house that was always immaculately organized; they were sitting in piles by band, and those piles had everything sorted alphabetically. On top of the small nightstand Dean had put in the corner of the room sat a lamp (broken; he never knew how it happened, but lamps just didn't agree with him) and a large stereo, which he had been warned several times annoyed his neighbors if it was up too loud.

 

“Not tonight, kid. We're gonna Guild together.” Dean said. Ben's eyes immediately lit up in curiosity, and Dean stepped to the side, letting him in. He quickly walked past the other, flopping down onto the couch and taking out his computer.

 

Dean laughed a little and sat down on the couch next to him, grabbing his own lap top. He logged on and started Google Chrome (because internet explorer was probably invented just to piss people off), tapping his keys impatiently as the screen loaded.

 

He clicked his book marks and went into the game, finding Ben's screen name. He clicked the “tied together” option; it would tie their characters together for the next twenty four hours, meaning Ben could tag along with the Guild. Luckily, Ben wasn't paying attention to the screen name, and just clicked the 'accept' button.

 

Luckily, because his reaction was priceless.

 

“You guys ready to cause some mischief?” Charlie announced. “By the way, it appears TheHunter has brought a tag along. Would you like to introduce him?”

 

“Well, CharlieTheWiz, this is Ben. He's the son of a friend of mine and I'm watching him tonight. Do you think you'd mind him tagging along?” Dean asked. He glanced over at Ben to see that he was staring at him with wide eyes, jaw slack in surprise. Dean just smiled.

 

“You're.... Uh... Wow.” Ben said. He straightened up, wiping the surprise away, leaving his expression just slightly impresssed. “That's kinda awesome, dude.”

 

“Of course we don't mind. Right, guys?” Charlie asked. There was a general murmur of agreement from the other two players. “Alrighty then, what's he want to be called?”

 

“Well, as long as he doesn't insist on being called his screen name,” Dean glanced towards Ben to find him very enthusiastically shaking his head no, still a little star struck. “His name is Ben. I think we can go ahead and call each other first names around him too, I don't think he's going to tell anyone what they are.” Another glance, just to make sure he was still shaking his head. He was.

 

“Great. What we have planned for today is fairly simple; we're going to go to the treasure caves. I'm assuming he'd be good to take on some treasure-guarding trolls?” Charlie asked.

 

Finally, Ben seemed to unfreeze. He leaned forward towards his computer's microphone and said, “Of course I'd be okay. Treasure Caves are one of my favourite places to go.”

 

With that, Ash used his wizard powers to teleport them all there. Technically most of them could teleport themselves, but it was just more convenient to go in a group. They all stood, battle ready, moist air surrounding the mossy caves. Their characters were still on the screen, awaiting instruction. For a couple of seconds, nobody moved.

 

Then, Ash's character tentatively takes a step forward. “Fuck it.” He says, starting to run towards the looming mouth of the cave.

 

Suddenly, the ground begins to rumble. They all rush up behind Ash, facing the mouth as it quakes. There's silence over the speakers as they wait, pausing. Most of the time, the trolls come. But sometimes, you get lucky. Of course, this time couldn't be one of those.

 

The nasty thing runs out of the cave, barreling towards Jo. Dean runs forward and knocks her out of the way, taking most of the damage for himself. He knows it's smarter to defend her than to look out for himself; she's their healer, and if she dies, everyone else has nothing left to get their HP up, until she's back. Technically they  _ can _ bring her back with a re-spawn orb, but the regeneration timer is ten minutes. It's easier to just take the hit.

 

Dean is rewarded when Jo uses the first of her magic to heal him. He immediately goes after the troll, whos back was turned, having changed direction to go after Charlie. She hit him hard with her most powerful spell-- he swayed, but stayed standing. Charlie rushed forward with her sword, managing to get in a hit before it came back to sentience. (Well, as close to sentience as a troll gets).

 

“Die, scum!” Jo yelled, hitting it with magic from behind. Usually, this is where Dean comes in to save the day, but he can see that Ben is sneaking his own character up behind the thing. Dean sits back and watches as he hits it over the head with a club, victoriously pumping his fists in the air. With the XP he got from a monster so many levels ahead of his own, (monsters when playing in Guild Mode were based upon the power of the entire company) he went up three. Dean glanced over at the smile stretched across his face, and he was happy that he'd let Ben have his one.

 

“Good job, Buddy!” He enthused, leaning over and offering a knuckle. Ben bumped it enthusiastically, nodding his head towards Dean. He was still beaming with pride.

 

“Nice going!” Jo said. “If I were there, I'd _totally_ give you a chest bump.” She said.

 

“Yeah, and that's saying something, because she has an awesome rack.” Ash put in.

 

“Alright guys, stop, he's thirteen. He doesn't need to hear that stuff from you.” Dean interrupted. Lisa would kill him if he came home spewing filth from his house. “That's what public school is for.”

 

Charlie chuckled a bit. “Dean's right. Let's keep it PG-13, okay? Ben, great job. I can tell you're going to get along with the group fine.” She said. Dean could see Ben's eyes light up even more than they were already; the kid was practically glowing with happiness and praise. He wished, just a little bit, he'd gotten to have some of that growing up.

 

His dad wasn't the worst dad ever; pretty far from it, if you asked him. However, he  _ was _ a bit less... Affectionate, than other parents. Mary had died when they were younger, and it had torn his soul to pieces. There was nothing left for his kids; only a fierce protectiveness over their lives. Most of the time, Dean felt like even that was just because Mary had loved them so much. So, as a result, Dean Winchester wasn't as coddled as the other kids. His dad didn't like something he did, or thought he had done something wrong, he was brutally honest with Dean about it. No questions, no sympathy.

 

Dean had apparently been constantly doing things wrong.

 

Forgetting to feed Sam, (because while his father ran off doing lord knows what for days at a time, he had to take care of Sam. So, why should when he was home be any different?) not cleaning up after himself, or just flat out screwing things up. The only comfort in all of it was Sam himself, who would often tell Dean he liked something that Dean had done. Dean drew a picture? It was beautiful to Sam. Dean burnt the macaroni? He said he liked it better that way. Sam was an angel sent from heaven above during his childhood years, and still could be, at times.

 

Dean's attention was pulled back to the game as they continued on, smashing their way through trolls, which were getting more and more frequent as they went deeper and deeper into the cave. He lost himself in his character, soaking up the glorious rays of the computer screen.

 

Which is how he ended up losing track of time.

 

At 6:10, his email gave off a small blip. He looked up at it in confusion.

 

“Guys, I gotta go check something. I'll be back, okay?” He said, exiting full screen. He clicked on the small mailbox in the right hand corner of the screen, waiting impatiently for it to load.

 

“Actually, I sorta have something to ask, anyways.” Charlie said, giving out a nervous laugh. “I've been thinking; we all live in New York, right? We've established that freaky coincidence?” She questions. There is a general murmur of agreement, and Dean isn't paying attention to the email anymore as he listens to Charlie. “Well, I'm actually the leader of a small LARP group. I'm technically their 'princess', so I need to bring a royal court. It'll be a renaissance fair and there will be food and games and jousting, because a lot of other groups are coming.” She announces.

 

“You're suggesting that we really meet up?” Jo asked. “Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, what if one of us is ugly?” Jo teased.

 

“Don't be so self conscious, honey.” She shot back. Dean smiled a little bit; he found how they bickered to be quite entertaining at times. His honest opinion was that they just needed to fuck already and get it over with.

 

“I know it's a stretch, but it's important to me. It's next weekend, if you guys want to come.” She offers. There's a pause as each of them mulls it over.

 

“I'm game.” Ash said. Jo and Dean quickly agreed. Ben put in that his mom would never let him go to meet people from the internet, and Charlie laughed.

 

“That's smart of her, kiddo. After Dean's met us, though, he'll be able to vouch. So maybe some other time?” She offers. Ben looks satisfied with the answer. “Anyway, I'll send you all the address through private message.” She announced.

 

Suddenly, Dean's attention was brought back to his email. The screen had gone black and he'd moved the mouse, only to find it loaded. He clicked on the last received, ignoring Charlie's backround chatter, and waited again as his computer struggled to bring up the words. Finally, the screen came into view, and he tilted his head in confusion as he read what the email said.

 

_'You're late.'._

 

Late for what? He tried to scan his memory of what he could possibly be late for, looking back at the last few days. When he finally realized that he was supposed to be logging on to 'Angel/Demon Alliance', it was already 6:20. Before he got the chance to ex off of the page, another ding brought up a new email.

 

_'My patience is wearing thin, Hunter.'_

 

“Guys, I can't play any more tonight. I forgot that I was supposed to meet a friend on this new angel and demon game, and I'm already twenty minutes late. You think Ben could fill in for me?” He offered.

 

“Okay then. Later.” Ash said. Nobody in the group said anything in protest, so Dean figured he was good to go. He went up to the website URL holder and typed in the angel and demon game's information, waiting for it to bring it up. Once it was, he went to log in immediately. He signed into his account, turning towards Ben as he did.

 

“Hey, would you happen to have headphones you could use? This game requires sound, so I wouldn't want you to have to put up with me talking and you trying to talk at the same time. That might get a little difficult.” Dean announced, scanning the room for his own pair. He knew they were in there because he had come across them while he was cleaning his room earlier...

 

Finally, he found them. He dove after them, grabbing them and bringing them up to his ears. He plugged them in, glancing over to see Ben doing the same. He noticed his battery was running low and grabbed the charger, hooking it up as fast as he could. Really, it was a miracle he had managed to play on it for as long as he had without it dying on him.

 

He stayed silent as he heard the small sound of the microphone being turned on, and the option to continue up on the board. He pressed it, joining in on the game.

 

“Why hello there, Hunter. You're a little late.”

 


	4. Dean is Straight I Swear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! One week in and already four chapters strong. I'm feeling super proud of myself for this! Maybe I should do stories without schedueled updating more often, hmmm? Anyways, you're missing out on the fun if you're not following me (mystic-fallen-angel currently, eventual change back to MysticMoonhigh) so if you like this story, go do that!   
> On to the chapter!

“I'm sorry about that.” Dean mumbles, reaching up to scratch his head. He felt a little awkward; it wasn't like him to make stupid mistakes like that. Well, when it involved agreements. If he said he was going to do something, he did it. End of story.

 

“It's fine. We'll just have to cut our game play a little short tonight. Are you ready to go?” Angel asked. Dean clicked the “continue” button, and was thrown back into the world of myth and legend. The angels and demons were still in the basement, and Arya's clothes were just as revealing.

 

“I think I have a lead on what might be going on.” One of the demons said, her eyes flickering black as she spoke. She had on a short skirt and her breasts were popping out of her shirt even more than usual, making her look especially promiscuous. Her face had small dimples when she gave off a smirk, and her legs went on for miles. Dean was paying attention, now.

 

“Sylvia. What is it?” Arya demanded, irritation evident in her tone. Sylvia's smile stretched even wider.

 

“Well, hun, I was thinking... I had a friend who went missing in Michigan a couple of days back. It's not like him not to call, and he was around where I was when I was taken. I don't have a clue where he is right now, but I know somebody who might.” She purred.

 

“Tell us.” Angel insisted, and his character on screen actually said what he had just moments before. Again, He had some serious intuition skills. That, or he just spent way too much time gaming.

 

“Well, his name is Tyler. He lives in Florida. You'll have to get there by driving, though; the demon who was here before said that they were working on a way to signal in on angels using satellites to detect beings moving through the air.” She said. Dean just about cursed out loud, but then he remembered that Ben was there. He probably heard it all the time, but he'd still feel bad for saying something in front of the boy. After all, it wasn't his kid.

 

“Well, that's just wonderful.” Angel said flatly. Dean wasn't sure whether or not he was being sarcastic; he could see Angel having a dry sense of humor, but there was just something about the tone that had made Dean think that maybe he wasn't. He seemed pretty darn mysterious. And unpredictable.

 

“How do we do that?” Dean asked, just as a tutorial popped up. He actually read through it this time, while he was, throwing Angel a quick, “You seeing this?”

 

“If you're referring to the instructions on how to hijack a car for our own, then yes. Yes I am.” He said. Dean nodded to himself as his eyes scanned over the information, excited to see that one of his powers was to open and close things without having keys (granted they weren't supernaturally warded against him). He would have to find the keys, though, and to do that he might have to break into somebody's house or find them walking around and get them. Sometimes, if you got lucky, they were left in the car. It was a one out of four chance.

 

The screen flashed as the information left, leaving them alone in the basement. All the other angels and demons had apparently left while they were gone, and Dean was feeling slightly awkward with the lack of communication after about thirty solid seconds of silence.

 

“Do you, uh... Want to go and get a car now?” Dean questioned.

 

“I suppose that's what we should do.” Angel confirmed. Dean breathed a sigh of relief as he got a response; he'd been worried that the connection might have gone out on him while playing; it had happened before, and he had ended up finding out that his entire guild had moved locations while he was gone and were all wondering where the fuck he was. It wasn't a fun experience for any of them.

 

They moved together towards the doors and through the house, coming to a stop outside on the lawn again. It only took a second this time for Angel to take lead, Dean following his character across the street and towards an old, slightly worn out car that looked like it belonged to a gang member.

 

“Open this door.” Angel said, stepping to the side. Dean paused, his lip quirking up and eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

 

“What? Why? We're not gonna drive around in that thing.” He said.

 

“Why not? I find it to be quite cozy.” Angel commented. “Open the door, Dean.”

 

“No. I'm not driving around in a druggie car. It looks like it's been used to pimp out at least twelve girls. There is no way.” Dean insisted, turning his character around. He looked for a different car, one that didn't remind him of something off of _West Side Story._ Not that he... Not that he actually paid attention to _West Side Story_. That stuff was for girls.

 

“Yes, you are. Open the door.” Angel said, his voice dropping lower. Dean froze as he watched with fascination as his character was spun around and slammed against the car, Angel pressing close. “Do it or I swear this angel blade is going straight up your ass.”

 

Okay, Dean is entirely straight. He likes boobs and cars and monster trucks and pig wrestling and lesbian porn and the whole nine yards-- but he'd be lying through his teeth if he didn't admit that that turned him on a little. He felt his dick give a small twitch of interest, and he stiffened up his body in shock and confusion. Angel was... Did angel just...?

 

“Okay fine, I'll open it.” Dean allowed, closing his eyes and breathing in deep, focusing on his own lungs moving and trying to stop the boner in its tracks. Ben was in the room, for crying out loud! He couldn't go getting hard at every little thing! He had just gotten out of control because it had been so long since he'd been laid. He needed a masturbation session later, and then everything would be okay. Everything would be just great, thank you very much. Because Dean was _straight._

 

“I'm getting impatient.” Angel insisted again. Dean tried not to focus on the sound of his velvet voice, or the slightly authoritative tone it had taken. In fact, all he thought about was how to open the car door.

 

He pressed the controls and the door on the driver's side came open, leaving it for Angel to slide in. Angel did as Dean expected and went into the car, his character opening up the glove box and rummaging through the contents. Dean half hoped that the keys weren't there so they could get a better looking car, but he knew that if they weren't there, Angel would insist they search the house and Dean wouldn't be able to say no. He couldn't risk Angel dropping into that deep, authoritative, commanding tone again. Not while Ben was in the room.

 

Not because it turned him on, of course. He was just sensitive right then. There was absolutely nothing appealing about the voice. Because it was male. Because Dean Winchester is _straight._

 

“Are you getting in or not?” Angel questioned, snapping Dean back to reality. He glanced over the screen to see that Angel had somehow gotten the keys, and he wordlessly slid in. Angel started the car, (Dean almost always drove, but he didn't complain when Angel decided to) heading off towards Florida.

 

A loading screen popped up, saying that it would take almost five minutes to load. Dean didn't think he could stand another awkward silence for a full five minutes, so he quickly scanned his mind for questions you usually asked somebody when you first met them. After all, he had at least another couple of months having to put up with this guy, so he might as well know something about him.

 

“So, uh...” Dean struggled to think of something to say, “What do you do for a living?”

 

“This.” Angel responds, dryly. Dean, of course, thinks he's joking, and lets out a laugh. “What's so funny?”

 

“Wait, you... You were serious?” Dean questions, face twisting up. His image of Angel had just changed from hardcore, tall, brawny dude to a little scrawny nerd with braces wearing an oversized wizard's hat who lived in his mom's basement. “You aren't in high school, are you?”

 

“No, Hunter. I most likely surpass you in years. I test video games for a living. I have a friend in the industry who gets me jobs like these all the time; I'll be testing a new game every four or five days, and getting paid for the analysis I write and turn in.”

 

“You... Seriously... I didn't even know that was a thing.” Dean admitted. He hears a deep, seductive chuckle from angel, and it's all he can do to keep a shiver from going up his spine. “So, uh, how old are you, anyways? Do you... live on your own?”

 

“Yes, I've lived on my own for some time now. Ten years, actually.” Angel said. Dean's eyebrows rose. This guy had been living on his own for ten years and was able to afford to test video games for a living? “I'm thirty. Well, turning thirty, in August.” He said. Dean nodded his head, letting all of that sink in.

 

“That's... Wow.” He said. He couldn't fathom how somebody could have such good luck.

 

“Consequently, of course, I don't get out much. So, to keep my job, my friend forces me to go out on social events with him, have lunch once a month, and generally makes himself a nuisance. He's my friend, though, so I can't really say too much.” Angel said. Dean heard the rumple of clothing on the other end of the line as he shrugged and then let his shoulders fall again.

 

“I can understand that one, dude. The internet is so much better than real life. It's a lot harder to level up out here.” Dean joked. He heard Angel give a small scoff at his terrible attempt at humour, and he felt a small burst of pride go through him.

 

“Well, that's just because people like us don't understand their missions. All of them seem pointless.” Angel said. His voice relaxed some, and Dean felt his own body untense in response. He found himself smiling like an idiot at his computer screen, entirely satisfied with where the conversation was headed. This was his first time in a long time he'd felt at home with anyone but his brother and his guild. It was curious how fast he had relaxed.

 

“Well yeah. I mean, the chicks wear way more clothes in real life, too. Not that it's bad if it makes them comfortable, but I mean... Obviously, I like to see some skin.” Dean said pleasantly. It had been awhile since Dean had discussed girls with anyone, and obviously, he had sex on the brain.

 

“I'm afraid I can't side with you there.” Angel said. Dean felt a burst of confusion go through him as he thought through what Angel had said. Suddenly, the realization dawned on him.

 

“Oh. You, uh... You swing for the other team?” He asked, suddenly feeling like his mouth was a little dry. It seemed just a little bit harder to breathe as Angel took his dear sweet time replying, letting Dean's thoughts chase each other around in his head.

 

“Not exactly, but I suppose so. I'm asexual, but I'm pan-romantic. So yes, I do “bat for your team”, but I also, “bat for the other team”. I have no preference in accordance to somebody's physical appearance. Only touch and other such stimulation arouse me.” He said. Dean let out his breath, but his chest still felt tight, as if he hadn't. He felt his ears burning as he looked down at the ground, and wondered why on earth this piece of information embarrassed him.

 

“That's... Uh, cool, I guess. I mean, whatever works for you.” Dean said. There was a small pause on the other line.

 

“What's your orientation, Hunter?” The other asked. There seemed to be a note of accusation in his voice. Dean froze up again, all of the relaxation that had been there earlier being replaced by a thick tension and a slight moment of panic, before Dean shoved all his thoughts aside. He was _straight_.

 

“I'm... I'm entirely hetero.” He said, stuttering a bit. His mouth was slack as he watched the loading bar continue, and he hoped that it would save him from this conversation by magically jumping ahead. Things had gotten really awkward really quick.

 

“No you aren't.” The voice responded. Dean felt his breath catch on the way in. “Don't lie to me, I can tell when people aren't telling the truth. You may think you're straight, but you have a seed of doubt. You don't have to hide from me, Dean.” Angel said, and Dean could hear the smirk in his voice.

 

Rather than actually acknowledge what he had just said, Dean decided to point out the fact that he hadn't told Angel his name yet.

 

“Hey, how did you know I was Dean?” He demanded, frowning a bit.

 

“What, you never wondered how I got your email? I hacked your account information when you were late. I wasn't going to just sit here alone like an idiot.” Angel said. Dean's eyes widened. Hell, did all of his friends know how to make computers tick? He felt like an utter newbie compared to some of these people.

 

“Well, that's not creepy at all!” Dean exclaimed. “Wow, if I start getting random notes written entirely in letter stickers, I'll know which way to point the police.”

 

“I think we both know I wouldn't stalk you. I was simply giving myself a leg up. Plus, you know my email now, too. So we're even.” Angel said. Dean still felt entirely like he was behind in this thing, and he frowned. Having Angel's email address didn't make up for angel having access to literally all of his other information.

 

“No, we're not. I don't even know your name, and you know everything about me!” Dean exclaimed. There was a chuckle on the other end, deeper and more seductive than the ones before.

 

“Oh, and why do you want my name, Dean? Think you'll be using it a lot?” Angel asked. Dean had to quickly think of a rotten banana and falling down the stairs and naked old women to keep himself from getting _hard as fuck,_ because that sentence with that light hint of suggestion should be (and probably was) illegal in at least ten different countries. He didn't know how somebody so socially awkward would have known how to flirt like that. “Fine. It's Castiel.”

 

“Castiel?” Dean choked out, blinking. “That's a bit of a mouth full.” He mumbled. “I'm just going to call you Cas.” He announced, firmly. His mouth felt dry and his dick gave a half-hearted throb in his pants, begging for Dean to let it come out to play. He quickly grabbed a throw pillow (thank god Sam had gotten him that for his last birthday) and sat that gently on top of his lap to cover up her crotch from young eyes. Poor Ben did not need to be traumatized.

 

“ That's actually why I picked angel, because my name means, 'Angel of Thursday'. I'm not sure what my parents meant by naming me after an angel who only pertains to one day of the calendar week, but I suppose they were out of ideas after Gabriel, Balthazar, and Michael.” He explains. Dean feels his pants snake finally begin to calm down as he listens to the explanation.

 

“Well that's cool. You have... Three siblings?” Dean questioned. As far as he knew, all he had was Sam and a half brother who lived in Michigan that he'd never met. He couldn't imagine being responsible for three other brothers. Of course, the way Castiel had said it, he sounded like he might have been the youngest.

 

“Four, actually. After me, my parents finally had my sister Anna. They had been trying for a girl since the beginning, so after they finally had one they stopped. Good thing too, because I was really close to having to share a room with Michael. That would have been... quite unpleasant.” Castiel said darkly. Dean felt his eyebrows raise in question.

 

“Why? I mean, me and my younger brother had to share a room growing up.” Dean said, “We fought, but I wouldn't say it was _that_ bad.”

 

“Michael was the oldest.” He said, giving a sigh. “He was a little bit controlling over the younger three of us, and seemed to always know something to hang over our heads. When I was fifteen and was struggling with my sexuality, he bullied me into telling him and then threatened to use it against me. Soon, it escalated and he essentially had me, Gabriel and Balthazar doing all of his work for him. He was manipulative and unsupportive, but most of the time I could avoid him. If we had shared a room, however, he would have found more ways to make my life hell.” Castiel said. His voice was carefully neutral, as if he was hiding his real feelings on the subject. “It's fine now, though. When I was twenty I finally moved out and my family hasn't bothered me since.”

 

“Are you still close to your other brothers? How would he turn that against you?” Dean questioned. They were now sitting in Florida, but neither of them noticed or cared. Dean was more concerned with listening to Cas.

 

“My mother was religious. Had she found out, I would have been under strict observation and she'd be constantly paranoid that I'd have a boyfriend. It would make things generally hard to navigate.” He admitted. “She knows now, of course. She doesn't support it, but Naomi has agreed that she won't let it affect our relationship.”

 

“That's... Wow. That does sound like a bit of a sucky situation for you.” Dean admitted. “I was never really like that with Sammy. Our dad couldn't care less what we got up to, honestly. Mom was always supportive, at least before she... Passed away. We had a lot of freedom.” He heard himself say. It was the most he'd talked about his past in a long while.

 

“Too much freedom can be just as bad as a parent who's over controlling.” Castiel commented casually. Dean had a little while to think on that.

 

Suddenly, something beeped on the other end of the line. He heard some awkward shuffling, and then a huff of impatience from Castiel.

 

“My friend needs me immediately, he's gone out and gotten himself intoxicated again. He doesn't know where he is. I have to go.” He said, sounding tired.

 

“Okay then. Same time tomorrow?” Dean questions. There is a small noise of agreement from the other line.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos/review?


	5. Finally shit gets sexy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains masterbation. That means it's not appropriate. So, please refrain from being a little bitch about it. Thank.
> 
> Also, sorry I haven't been able to update. I probably won't get around to it again for a little while, Sunday at worst. Because unfortunately, I'm at my mom's house, and I'm watching my little brother this entire week. So yeah. Sunday, be looking forward to that.

Ben finally leaves around midnight, and Dean is relieved to have the privacy of his own home back. He paces the floor for a little while, clearing his mind and breathing in and out. He knew he should probably go to sleep, but he could also feel the beginnings of a hard on again. It really had been too long...

 

So, he grabbed a towel and a fresh pair of underwear, walking into the bathroom and setting them down neatly on the toilet seat. He let his mind wander to cheap porn and past fucks as he started to take off his clothing, slowly shedding one layer at a time. When he was finally stripped down to his underwear, he reached in and tested the water, adjusting the temperature a bit. Once he finally found it satisfactory, he slipped off the final layer and climbed into the spray.

 

He let the water run down his back for a little while, hands lathering soap into his scalp as he thought of busty Asian women. He gritted his teeth as his cock gave a dull throb, clearly over eager to get the activities started. He knew that if he didn't wait a little while, until he was a little more in control of the situation, he was going to cum hard and fast all over the wall. He wanted this to last, though, so he lathered up the rest of his body, purposefully avoiding his dick.

 

Eventually, it got to the point where he had nowhere else to touch. His cock was hard and heavy between his legs, red and swollen and practically leaking. He gave a hiss as his hand wrapped around the flesh, shivering at the feeling of finally being touched.

 

His thumb slowly moved along his skin, the rest of his hand remaining firmly latched around his base. He tentatively took the first stroke, wet skin on wet skin making him stifle a groan. His forehead rested against the shower wall as the spray hit his back, and he began to pump himself, _agonizingly_ slow.

 

He let his thoughts take their own path as he pumped, hissing as his thumb lightly brushed over the sensitive tip. His member was swollen and ready to burst, so he knew that he didn't have to do anything particularly fancy right then. Just stroking and thinking would do, for now... Just letting his thoughts take their own path, not regulating them or trying to think about anything in particular...

 

His mind wandered through regular fields like cars and beer and women before finally making a full circle back to gaming. As soon as the word popped into his head, what had happened earlier had made its way to the front of his mind. Castiel's commanding growl, his overpowering demeanor, the way Dean's dick had practically jumped out of his pants at the lightest sexual innuendo...

 

Dean felt his member give a dull throb in his hands, and he froze. He stood there for a full minute in the shower, the water running down his bare back, not daring to move. He shook his head to clear it, blushing a bit as he started to pump again. He was close now; all he had to do was finish and he was sure everything would be okay again. This stupid dude-induced boner was a one-time affair. Things would be back to normal if he could just get himself to cum.

 

So, he let his mind start to wander again, this time, staying strictly in the realm of women. He thought about that blonde porn star he'd dated for a little while, her large and succulent breasts and how much she was willing to try. He thought about his first real love, Cassie, (which had nothing to do with Cas, he assured himself) who was a real wild card. As soon as he thought about her, though, he found himself feebly shaking as his lower stomach burned. He was close, so close...

 

But, he was out of material. Everyone and everything that he usually thought about was already gone. It had been much too long since he'd watched any porn, so thinking about that was out of the question, and he honestly couldn't make himself think about anything he'd already gone through that night. It would feel like too much effort, and he really just wanted to get off, easy. Without over thinking things.

 

So, he gave himself permission, just this once.

 

He imagined what Cas's voice would sound like groaning out his name. There was nothing else on his mind, there was no body to attach, no pair of breasts that had magically popped into his head to assure his sexuality. Just that manly, gravely, oh-so-fuckable voice, all for him.

 

And suddenly, he was cumming. Harder than he'd _ever_ cum from touching himself; he groaned out Castiel's name as his dick pumped out his release, curved and seductively red as Dean felt the pleasure wash over him. His left hand came up to make a fist on the shower wall and he bit his lip _hard,_ knowing that his walls were paper thin and not wanting anyone else to hear. No, this moment was for _him_ , and him alone.

 

Finally, the stream stopped, and his dick began to soften. He stood there panting, forehead resting against the shower wall, for another good ten minutes. He was in utter disbelief; he was frozen by the fact that he had just had the freaking _best orgasm_ he'd had in _years,_ and it was from masterbating. To thoughts of a _dude._

 

He quickly washed himself off, deciding to bury this memory in the back of his mind and (hopefully) never, _ever_ revisit it.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Almost a week had passed since that night, and Dean had done his best not to think about it. It was a little hard, what with him talking to Castiel literally every night, and Cas still dropping occasional innuendos, but it wasn't too bad. After all, they had started to become friends now, which made some awkward moments easier to write off.

 

In fact, Castiel had texted Dean for the first time the night before. Dean had just been minding his own business, fetching a beer, getting ready to watch some television, when his phone sounded from the living room. Dean made his way over to it, beer in his hand, curious. The only person who ever texted him was his brother, and they had just talked earlier, which meant it wasn't very likely to be him.

 

_'Dean, I would like to know whether or not you'd be free to get on right now. I have a spare time slot I need to fill.'_ Dean read. He looked up at the number; this person clearly meant him, but he didn't know who it was. Or what they were talking about. They had a New York area code, though, so he supposed it could be someone from his guild? He couldn't remember giving his number to any of them, but he guessed it would probably be easy enough to get it from a phone book. 

 

_'Who is this? Ash, is it you? Yeah I'm free, give me a minute.'_ He texted back, tapping his thumbs against the phone thoughtfully once he was done. 

 

He got out his computer and started it up, glad to have some distraction. Charlie had said that they shouldn't be online that night because she had to make arrangements for the renaissance fair the next day, so Dean had been expecting to be bored as heck until is six o'clock usual with Cas.

 

_'No, it's not Ash. It's Castiel; I would have expected you to have guessed. Isn't Ash one of your guild mates?'_ Dean read. His eyebrows raised as he saw that it was not, in fact, the one he had expected. He quickly pulled up chrome and typed in his usual website, excited to see Cas early today. He'd been wanting to spend more and more time with his intriguing friend lately. Dean, who never opened up to anyone, found himself more and more inclined to throw Castiel tidbits of his past, present, and hopes for the future.

 

Castiel was quickly becoming one of his closest friends, in just a week of interaction. Of course, he was still close to the guild and to his brother, but Sam had been busy lately and the guild just wasn't as intimate as his one-on-one time with Castiel.

 

_'I'm getting on now. How the hell did you get my phone number?'_ Dean asked, then turned back to his computer as the log-in option popped up. He quickly entered in his information, clicking the start button. The microphone gave the usual click and Castiel was connected to him.

 

“Need I remind you, Dean, that I'm an experienced hacker. Your number wasn't that had to find once I had your name.” Cas reminded him. The first thing he said.

 

“Yeah yeah yeah.” Dean responded, “Let's just get on with playing the game. Where to next?”

 

Dean heard the sound of a horn, jerking him back to reality. He gave a sheepish laugh as he pressed down on the gas pedal. He'd been thinking so hard, he'd entirely missed the light going green. Which, of course, sufficiently pissed off the people behind him.

 

He was headed to Charlie's renaissance fair, and his stomach was in knots. He was excited and nervous at the same time, eager to meet the people he'd been playing online with in the past year. The fleeting thought that Castiel might be there crossed his mind, but he pushed it down immediately. Cas said he didn't get out much, and just because he had a New York number didn't mean anything.

 

He pulled into the parking lot, seeing that it was  _clearly_ the intended place for the festival. There were people dressed in extravagant middle earth clothing and wearing what looked to be like pounds of chain mail, on top of carrying around large wooden shields and what looked to be weapons covered in hard foam. He parked two blocks away, not able to find anything closer. It looked like hundreds of people had shown up, and Dean wondered again just how big the gaming and larping community was. 

 

He got out of his car and started walking, passing many knights and fair maidens along the way. He felt outstandingly under-dressed in his normal flannel and jeans, but he hadn't had time to throw together anything better. The only thing that softened his outlandish appearance was the button on his shirt showing his support for his guilding game. Other than that, though, he was an outcast.

 

He finally got near the festivities, and he could hear music being played over the loud speaker. He looked around at the booths, seeing things for sale and food cooking, all of it was slightly overwhelming. People ran to and fro, sometimes lightly jabbing each other with swords, other times locked in heated conversation in accents Dean found strange. He'd even over heard a little bit of a conversation in Toliken elvish; he knew enough to recognize the language, but wasn't able to keep up.

 

He was actually beginning to enjoy himself when he felt a tug on his arm. He turned around to see a small dude with a badge on his chest in the usual crest of the land, showing that he worked for royalty.

 

“Are you Dean?” He questioned, eyeing him up and down. Dean raised an eyebrow. The way the dude was looking at him, you would have thought Dean had just drowned a puppy in his sink.

 

“Yes, who's asking?” He questioned. The man shifted uncomfortably, taking on a more professional demeanor.

 

“The princess, Charlie, has sent me to fetch you. She requests your presence in her throne room.” He said, gesturing to the side. Dean didn't even have time to respond before he was following the little guy through the crowds, almost bumping into people as he weaved around them. Unlike usual, he didn't receive any dirty looks when he accidentally nudged someone, only a knowing smile and a nod of acknowledgment.

 

They eventually arrived in front of a large tent, with the crest across it in bright red paint. Nobody dared come within ten feet of it, but Dean was escorted right to the front door. The small man lifted up the curtain and gestured for him to come inside, and Dean did so. He ducked under the tent and into the room, feeling the door shut behind him. The smaller one had decided to stay outside.

 

“Dean!” Was yelled from his left. “Nice to meet you, dude!”

 

He turned, eyebrows knitting together. The voice was familiar, but the blonde curls and bright brown eyes were new. She was dressed in a chain mail shirt that stopped just below the belly button and a skirt that touched the floor, making her appear fierce and graceful and powerful all at once. She held out a hand for him to fist bump, and he stared at it for awhile, before a huge smile stretched across his face.

 

“Jo!” He exclaimed, bumping her fist. She nodded her head appreciatively.

 

“I _told_ you he'd recognize me without asking!” She declared, looking across the tent. Dean followed her gaze to see a man dressed in a night's costume, with the addition of a couple of pieces of flannel tied around the tops of the arms. He had out-of-control blonde hair that was styled into a mullet. There was a computer sitting in front of him and he cracked away at the keys, presumably working his magic. His eyes drifted up to Jo's with vague annoyance. Ash.

 

“Well excuse me. I never said he wouldn't, I just said that the chances weren't in your favor. After all, it turned out I'd been coming into your mom's bar for years and we didn't know each other. I would think I would have a higher chance of knowing you when I saw you.” Ash said, sounding slightly annoyed. Dean felt a huge smile stretch across his face; these were his guild mates; he would recognize their banter anywhere. He had no reason to be worried.

 

“Alright guys, let's get Dean suited up!” A third voice. Charlie, if Dean wasn't mistaken. He turned towards the sound, to see bright red hair and dimples holding up a suit made of pieced together red fabric and chainmail. He looked at the other two, eyes questioning. He was met with twin shrugs.

 

“Come on, you can't expect me to have a hand maiden who looks like they're from the _twenty first century,_ can you?” She questioned, pushing Dean towards a small compartment where he would be able to change in peace. 

 

“Hand- _what?_ ” He questioned, as he was pushed into the room.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later, of course, he found out that he had to play the part of hand maiden because he was late and the other two positions had been filled by Jo and Ash. Of course, it didn't end up all that terrible to Dean. He liked staying by Charlie's side, he liked talking to her, and he damned well liked that once it got to the “feast” part of the night, he got a front row seat to watching the king and queen discuss kingdom matters, as he was only four or five seats down. Sure, he had to run and get Charlie a refill on cheap wine every once in awhile. He was fine with that.

 

Charlie was to his left, and Ash and Jo are to his right, in that order. They're all sitting around and eating (They had to pay for their own food, but that was fine. It was delicious and well worth it) and talking, and he went back and forth between talking eagerly with the guild and listening in on the king and queen talking. Of course, next year, it would be Charlie in that queen's seat.

 

“So, I basically had to just make out with a girl in front of him to get him to leave me alone.” Charlie admitted. She was explaining the little dude's hostile attitude towards Dean earlier; he _still_ had a huge crush on Charlie and saw _everyone,_ male or female, as potential competition. He didn't know Ash and Jo were already in the tent, and the princess asking a random boy into her quarters alone sounded like something more than it was to him. Dean nodded his head, and Charlie casually took a bite of her chicken.

 

“So, Dean, what's your sexual orientation?” She questioned, raising her eyebrows. He heard a shuffle as Jo and Ash both leaned forward, intrigued by the turn the conversation had taken. Dean opened his mouth as if to respond, but nothing came out for a little while.

 

“I'm straight.” He managed to choke out. A very small voice in the back of his head brought up the shower incident, but he quickly placed an entire roll of duct tape over its mouth. He smiled, repeating confidently, “Completely heterosexual.”

 

“Are you sure?” Jo asked from behind him. “You talk about that Castiel boy an awful lot to be straight.” She put in. Dean felt his cheeks go red hot, and his mouth opened and closed several times. Jo and Ash busted out laughing together, and Charlie reached behind him to hit both of them on the back of the head.

 

“I've only known him for like a week. And we're just friends.” He assured, more himself than anyone else. _I'm straight._ He repeated in his mind. After the past week of saying it to himself over and over again, he felt sort of sick of repeating it. He sounded like a broken record, even to himself. _Completely heterosexual._

 

Charlie changes the subject, and Dean's grateful for it. “So, the next meeting, I'm getting to meet the prince. I'm really excited to be working with him! They say he came here today, but just doesn't want to draw attention to himself. I don't mind though, as long as he's here once our rule comes into domain. I just need assurance he's not gonna bail on me, you know?” She questions.

 

“Of course.” Dean says, mostly paying attention.

 

The rest of the night is spent having fun, laughing as usual, watching a sick-ass jousting tournament, and then stripping down and back into his regular clothes, half asleep and a little bit tipsy from wine and laughing so much. He stops and eats a piece of bread before he has to drive home, slapping himself around a little to make sure he sobers up. ( _Buzzed driving is drunk driving,_ he tells himself).

 

Once he's absolutely certain he's able to pass a field test, he climbs in and starts the car, driving the hour home in one long push. He's practically half asleep already at the wheel, and he hopes that he'll be able to get to his bed room in time before he passes out.

 

It's a miracle he makes it to the elevator, and he almost doesn't notice that the weird guy who usually wears a trench coat is standing next to him, sex-hair and pouty lips and all, fully suited in chain mail and armor. He's all muscle and lightly tanned skin and practically glowing. There's one of those big ass foam swords behind him, leaning up against the elevator wall. Dean would totally question him about it if he wasn't so exhausted.

 

The elevator stops and he stumbles out and to the door, trying to convince himself that no, he did _not_ find the guy that lived next door attractive, because he was straight. However, he was too tired to fight with himself for long, and found himself staring at the guy's ass as he walked down the hallway. Dean tried to convince himself that he didn't find it attractive before he gave up and admitted that the dude was sort of hot.

 

He stumbled into his apartment and passed out on the couch, not even bothering to take off his shoes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally live off of your lovely comments. Please do that thing, and leave a kudos, too, if you don't mind ^_^


	6. Dean Thinks He Might Have Made A Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm incredibly insecure about this chapter, this wasn't where I was going to go with this one. The smut has been on my brain recently, though, and I couldn't help myself from adding in something a little bit more intimate between Dean and Cas. This pushes the meeting back a chapter, but I assure you, it'll be worth it. They'll probably meet in chapter eight, if things continue on the path they're on now.

_BZZZZZZD._

 

Dean sat up, breathing in sharply. He made a face, fumbling around in the couch, looking to locate the offender.

 

_BBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZDDDD!_

 

His hand closed around his cell phone, which had slipped in between the cushions of the couch in his sleep. He looked at the screen, the brightness of it temporarily blinding his freshly-opened eyes. He checked the time, groaning as he saw that it was eight o'clock in the morning. Come on, it was his day off! Why did he always get stuck with waking up early?

 

He unlocked his phone, seeing that he had two separate messages, from two different people. He made a face; were all of his friends deciding that the butt-crack of dawn was the best time to message him?

 

_Hey there, just wanted to remind you that the Christmas party is in a few weeks, and it's your turn to host. I hope you know I did, in fact, get a hold of the egg nog. Don't ask how._

 

Sam's number. Dean tilted his head to the side; it was  _July-_ Oh. Now he remembered.

 

Ever since they were little, the Winchester Christmases had been ignored. They had hardly known the definition of Christmas until they were at least ten, and even then, it had just been another day to them. Their father never felt like putting forth the effort to give them a real holiday, and had often stayed drunk the entire time, leaving Sam and Dean to watch  _Frosty the Snowman_ and wish that somehow, things would be different that year. Once they had grown up, they realized that things  _could_ be different.

 

So, they made the holiday their own, in more ways than one. Their Christmases now were large and extravagant, cutting down a tree together and decorating it and baking cookies and making a ginger bread house and marathoning the  _Home Alone_ movies until they both passed out, drunk on holiday spirit and the half-whiskey egg nog that Sam loved. But still, both of them felt like it wasn't quite enough.

 

So, every July, they threw a mid-year Christmas party. Technically it was a little past mid-year, but both of them preferred the heat of July for the party. They were happy to come up with half-done, half-expired Christmas decorations and terribly out of season music. They went back and forth on who would host it, and this year just happened to be Dean's turn to shine. He wrinkled up his nose in distaste; he would have to dig out the lights, put up his small fake tree, look up the recipe to make gingerbread cookies, and most importantly, decide who to invite. Sam would be expecting to meet his friends.

 

Sam would be severely disappointed to have Dean admit he was fresh out of real-life friends.

 

Wait! Dean  _did_ have real life friends now! Just because they had met online, didn't mean that they were any less important than any other people Dean could have met. He'd known the guild for a year now, it was high time he should start acknowledging them as a social group. Especially since their meeting last night had gone so well. He had to admit that even in real life they worked well together. So, that settled it. They would be coming to Christmas in July.

 

His thoughts briefly drifted to Castiel, and he scowled at himself. He'd known the dude for a week, for Christ's sake. He wasn't going to want to meet up any time soon, and for all Dean knew, he was a pedophile or old as balls or something like that. Or, a woman. With a really deep voice. 

 

The point is, that Dean couldn't invite Castiel because he hadn't known him long enough to trust him. It would be;  _is_ , pretty stupid of him to trust somebody so much after only knowing them for a little over a week. Even though they had spent hours talking, and Dean felt oddly open around him. That couldn't matter. Besides, he was just the tiniest bit nervous to meet Cas. What if-- What if he found out his  _body_ was nice, too? 

 

Dean cleared his head, blushing deeply. He wasn't going to think about that right now. Or ever, for that matter. He was straight, end of story. He'd been with plenty of girls, liked plenty of girls, not boys.

 

He checked his phone again.

 

_Hello, Dean. Good morning._ From Cas. Dean thought that it would be best to go ahead and add him to his contacts, so he didn't have to look at the number and remember who it was every damn time his phone rang. He entered it in as Angel, hoping vaguely that nobody would check his phone contacts and question it.

 

_Hey. You're up awful early for somebody who works in gaming._ Dean replied. He knew that if he had a job with hours that flexible, he'd sleep until three o'clock in the afternoon and stay up until seven in the morning. At least. Then again, he was slowly and surely finding out that a lot of things were different between the average man and Cas. He sort of liked hearing things from the outward perspective.

 

_I'm always up this early. I don't sleep very often, and when I do, it's in cat naps. Four hours here, four hours there, and I'm good to go._ Castiel responded.  _I like being up when the sun rises, though. It calms me._

 

Dean smiled a little at that. He'd been camping a couple of times, and he'd seen the sun lazily come up over the mountain side and start to shine radiantly towards the earth. The mixture of colors that even the most skilled painter could never quite capture, the smell of dew in the morning... He could get behind that. Of course, he couldn't bring himself to actually get up early enough to admire it much. Mostly, he got up a the standard nine o'clock for work, and that was it.

 

_Sounds fun. Sorry again we couldn't play last night, I had a thing I had to go to for a friend-- It was a bit of a mess. Well, my schedule. Not the thing._ He typed out quickly. As soon as he sent it, though, he felt a little bit uncomfortable. Almost like he hadn't quite said enough.  _The renaissance fair, the princess is in my guild. We all met for the first time._

 

That looked more personal.

 

_Well, I'm sure you had a great time. It's fine. Actually if you're free, I would be willing to get on now and resume game play. Would that be adequate?_

 

Dean had planned on spending the day with cheap porn and tasteless self-indulgence, (he hadn't dared do anything again since the shower incident, and he was just beginning to work up the courage to get over it) but if he was being honest with himself, gaming with Cas sound like a much more appealing idea. A small smile appeared as he texted back a simple, _Yeah, that's adequate._

 

He grabbed his head phones and computer, setting it firmly in his lap. He started both up and pulled up the bookmark with angel/demon alliance, logging on as quickly as possible. Castiel was already there, and he heard the regular small click of the microphone turning on. He couldn't help but smile as they were greeted with the long road stretched in front of them, a small driving animation taking place. Eventually it ended, and they were standing in the state of Utah, in front of a large and old building. A high-level demon was guarding the doors.

 

“I can't believe they got some of the demons on their side.” Cas's character mumbled to his.

 

“Be lucky I'm doing this.” Dean actually said, into the microphone. He opened his inventory and pulled out his special knife, the one that killed demons. He'd gotten it from a temporary ally the game had pegged as Ruby. “This was supposed to be my day for getting drunk and watching cheap porn.”

 

“Yes, I'm sure the game will never compare to your self-exploration. Really Dean, are you still fourteen?” Castiel quipped, his voice taking on a lightly teasing tone. “I never did understand how a grown man could take such pleasure from himself.”

 

“Oh, like you haven't done it.” Dean scolded. He was met with absolute silence on the other end, and watched the plot unfold for a couple more seconds. He only realized after the characters were done communicating that the silence was not, in fact, their usual brand of comfortable. It was slightly awkward and had unanswered questions and unspoken phrases hanging between them like a thick veil of awkward. Dean realized what this meant a little before Castiel would have broken the silence himself. “You... have, haven't you?”

 

“I've not really seen the point, much. I know I'm not attracted to anyone's bodies, so I wouldn't really be sure what to think about.” Castiel mumbled. Dean shifted awkwardly in his seat, suddenly feeling very, very awkward. This didn't mean that Cas viewed him as a sexual deviant now, did it?

 

“So you've, like, never seen porn of anything? Never had an _orgasm?_ ” Dean questioned. “Dude, how are you even a thing that exists?” He questions, before realizing that it might be taken as rude. To his relief, Castiel's voice when he answers is calm and a little bit sheepish, rather than offended and angry. Dean is glad that he didn't come across as a giant douche this time. 

 

“I've seen porn. I've had an orgasm; I'm not a virgin.” Castiel scolds. “I just don't see the point in it. I've never really had the urge to put hands on myself.”

 

“So you've never had phone sex? Dude, no offense, but it sounds like you've been a little deprived.” Dean admits. Because honestly, who the hell got to thirty and hadn't had phone sex yet? “You have to try it sometime. I won't stand for that, I'm too good of a friend.” Dean finishes, slightly teasing.

 

“Oh, so I suppose you're volunteering to do it yourself? Very generous of you. I'm sure it would be  _ such  _ a pain for you to listen to me moan.” Cas said, his voice dropping low and seductive, with the slightest hint of playfulness. This was the first time since the shower incident that Cas had said anything suggestive, and the tone of the words made Dean's stomach do a flip-flop. His dick was almost immediately at half-mast, lightly pressing against his zipper.

 

His entire body ached for him to just go along with it.  _ Besides, _ tagged on his mind,  _ It's not like it will be a big deal. This will help prove to you that you're straight. If you can tease like this without getting out of control. _

 

“Oh, very painful.” Dean said, but his voice sounded a little off, even to him, “But I'd be willing to make the sacrifice. I'm sure you wouldn't mind going ahead and whipping it out to thoughts of my voice, either.” Dean said. The thought of Castiel doing just that had his body hot and slightly tingly all over.

 

“Okay then, lead me through it.” Cas said. His voice sounded oddly serious, and oddly calm for what was about to happen. Dean realized then that this wasn't something that was a joke anymore; Castiel was seriously going to do as he said. It made him feel more than a little aroused, and in-control of the situation. Obviously, it was normal to help a friend out when in need, right? He wouldn't be a very good friend if he left Castiel entirely clueless on the issue.

 

“Alright. Do you have lotion? And tissues.” Dean said. He heard some scurrying, the opening of some drawers, and finally something being set down on top of a desk. “I'm going to take that as a yes. Now, uh...”

 

It was a little hard for Dean to think (no pun intended) with his cock throbbing uselessly in his pants, but he powered through it. Because he was straight, and wasn't going to wank off while trying to teach his friend to. That would be weird and unsanitary and honestly quite rude. This was for Cas, not for him. “Are you hard? If not, make yourself. You don't like bodies or whatever, but... Just, imagine somebody touching you.”  _ Me, preferably. _ Dean resisted the urge to yell at himself to shut up. 

 

There were sounds of little pants coming from the other end, and Dean wondered if that was the sound of Cas touching himself already. The thought made his own dick give yet another dull throbb, and a bead of precum was absorbed by his underwear. He moved one of his hands down to his crotch, guiltily pushing it down. He had to stifle a groan as the added friction made him even harder.

 

“I- I think I'm sufficiently hard, Dean.” Cas said, his voice just a little rougher than usual. Dean bit his lip, and he couldn't even stop the twitch of his dick.

 

“Good, good. Uh, now, this is going to sound weird, but... What are you wearing?” He questioned, flinching at himself. There was a dull chuckle from the other end.

 

“Sweat pants, nothing else. That doesn't sound weird, Dean. You're allowed to enjoy yourself, too. After all, I'm fairly certain that phone sex is supposed to go both ways.” Castiel said, much too plesantly for something of the nature. Dean couldn't keep in the groan that followed, his hand pushing down on the bulge in his pants. “The noise you just made provided to be effective stimuli, for example.”

 

Dean's mouth was in a tight line, his breath coming out in short pants. God, that technical talk was hot as hell. What did Cas do in his spare time, read the fucking dictionary?

 

“Oh, um.. okay. So, um... What I'm doing is, uh..” Dean let out a little gasp, “Pressing down and rubbing through my clothes. You can do that too, if... If you want.” Dean said.

 

“Okay... Like-” Castiel started, and then cut off with a gasp. A loud, uncensored groan came through. “Oh, okay, I think I've got it.” He said. “Is there anything else I should do?” Cas questioned. Dean was on cloud-fucking-nine right then, the way the other's voice shook with arousal and want. He couldn't help but feel like this was all some kind of a really,  _ really _ good dream. 

 

“Get the lotion.” Dean said. He located some on the table himself, pumping it into his hand. He unsheathed himself, wrapping his hand around his member, pretending it was somebody else. Pretending that it was Cas's. “Pretend that it's me, touching you.” He growled out, feeling slightly possessive. It was all together ridiculous that he'd feel this way, this strongly, but he couldn't bring himself to care, nor could he persuade himself to filter what he said. Cas was getting the full treatment. “Take out your dick. Ugh, I'm so hard for you, Cas,” He hissed.

 

“It's out, Dean. I assume I'm to pleasure myself as you would, if you were here?” Cas questions. The breath gets almost caught in Dean's throat-- it's a good kind of feeling. Because he just realized that  _ oh god, yes, yes he would.  _ He'd make Cas moan and squirm, suck hickeys into his neck so that everyone would know that he belonged entirely to him. 

 

“Yeah, just like that.  _ Faster,  _ Cas.” He moaned, increasing his own pace. There was a moan on the other end, Cas's rich voice coming through. Suddenly, Dean couldn't take it any longer. The heat of the moment, the sound of Cas's hands on his own skin, knowing that Cas was hard and swollen and touching himself  _ right now, _ with Dean, it pushed him right over the edge.

 

It was like little fireworks overtook his body, sending him to new realms of pleasure, as he pulled his hand away. He was barely able to catch his release in a close by tissue, saving himself the trouble of cleaning the carpet later. He heard a startled gasp and a moan through the other line, and he knew that Cas had came, too. He sat there for a moment, satisfied, panting.

 

“Well, that was certainly a pleasurable experience.” Cas panted, and started to move his character again. Dean sat still for a little while, stunned at the quick recovery of his partner. Things didn't even seem awkward right now, despite how afraid he'd been that they would end up sitting in stunned silence.

 

“I, uh... Yeah, same. What are we doing now?” Dean asked, turning his attention slowly back to the game. This was getting burried, as other such memories, in the very back of his mind to revisit later.

 

A screen popped up announcing their first ever solo mission, and Dean gave out a groan. Of course, because the universe hates him, it wanted him to sit alone in silence.

 

“I suppose this means we won't be seeing each other here for awhile. So, for now, goodbye, Dean.” Cas announced. Dean nodded his head weakly, trying to clear it at the same time.

 

“Yeah, I'll see you.” He said. Just then, their microphones disconnected, and Dean was left in the silence of his own thoughts. For example,  _ What the hell just happened?  _ And  _ What if you've just blown your friendship? _

 

He cleared his mind and turned back to the game, intent on getting this stupid single-person mission over with.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Dean  _ hated _ this. He'd been running through the game by himself for an  _ hour _ now, wondering what was happening. He'd found one of the damned ingredients he was looking for, but the other three still eluded him. That coupled with the fact that he probably had a life-changing realization to make he was going to put off for as  _ long as possible _ just made everything seem really annoying and mediocre. 

 

_ I recognize that what we just did may have made you uncomfortable. If you would like, we could avoid the subject in the future. _ Castiel texted him. Dean stared at his phone.

 

Well, looks like he was acting a little more awkward about it than he thought, in the couple of minutes they had together afterwards. He didn't want to make Cas feel bad-- it wasn't his fault that Dean had made the decision to whip it out and have a gay old time (again, no pun intended).  _ No, you're fine. I'm just a little worried now. I have a lot to think through. _

 

_Well, do you want to talk to me about it? Maybe I could be of assistance._

 

Dean was surprised to find himself typing out the word,  _ Yes. _ He had never been much the sharing type, (as we've already stated) but Cas always had this weird way of making him  _ want _ to talk about it. He was going to be the death of him, Dean could see it now.

 

_ I, uh, I just... I don't know. I'm worried about life. This is sort of, well, in case you hadn't noticed, you're the first dude I've really felt interest in. We've barely even talked, and yet, I've opened up to you more than anyone here recently. You've become family.  _ Dean sent. After reading that over, he realized that talking to somebody while still high on an orgasm was probably not the smoothest idea for him. He sounded like some cliché soap opera gone wrong.

 

_Dean, you shouldn't feel that way. I feel as if I've known you for quite some time. I would hope that you wouldn't take the amount of time we've spoken as a deterrent. I think of you as family, too. Again, if it makes you uncomfortable, we can avoid the subject._

 

_ Yeah. _ Dean said, lying through his teeth.  _ I'd like that. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE tell me that was okay?


	7. Texting All Day Long

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured you guys would like some plain old Dean/Cas interaction. This chapter is not in the least bit sexy. It is pure friendship playful banter awesome stuff. 
> 
> Thank you for your support in the story so far.
> 
> I said I wouldn't probably update again until Sunday. I have now updated twice. I lied.

Dean and Cas fell comfortably back into the old routine, but now, with texting added in.

 

While Dean was at work, he'd get teased for checking his phone every five minutes, and Cas would die multiple times trying to reply back. (Dean knew this because he complained about it constantly). They talked about everything from music, (Cas didn't know any of Dean's) to art, (Dean didn't understand that at all, but he liked it when Cas talked about it), to other games Cas had been playing.

 

_So, what do you do for a living, Dean? I've supplied you with my information, it's only fair that you would return the favour._

 

_What, the all-mighty hacker can't find that info on the internet? I'm disappointed in you, Cas._

 

Dean threw the rag he'd been cleaning the car with onto a table. It was covered in crease-coated tools and rags already, so he figured one more couldn't hurt. He gave a large stretch, yawning, his phone clutched tightly in his hand as was usual these days. He heard the chatter of his coworkers from behind him, and the clanging of tools as somebody threw something onto the table. He turned, seeing Garth dusting off his hands.

 

“Wow Dean, you've been really attached to that phone the last few days. I would complain, but you've been working an awful lot faster and looking happier than ever.” Garth said, leaning on the table with a beaming smile. That wasn't unusual for Garth; he could often be seen with a skip in his step and a twinkle in his eyes. Dean didn't think he was all that bad.

 

“Have I? I didn't even notice.” Dean admits, truthfully. He feels a little bit self-conscious, as if Garth somehow knew who he was talking to. Garth, of course, knew no such thing.

 

Dean felt his phone vibrate in his hand, and he immediately checked it, without thinking.

 

_ Well, I figured that would be invasive. If you refuse to tell me, I suppose I'll take to the internet. Then again, I'd be slightly concerned that you may be a porn star. You're not in a sketchy profession, are you, Hunter? _

 

_ If you find automotive repair sketchy, then yes.  _ Dean typed out quickly, turning back to Garth. Another dopey smile had stretched across his face when he read Cas's response, and Dean felt a little bit like he had just shown something to Garth that Garth shouldn't have seen. He didn't know why he felt like that; Cas was just his friend, so why should their conversations be kept private? He was funny and Dean liked to talk to him. Their times on the phone shouldn't make him feel jumpy.

 

“Are you talking to your  _ girlfriend? _ ” Garth demanded, drawing out the word. The wrinkles around his eyes increased as he smiled even larger. Dean honestly didn't know how to respond, and he could feel his face heating up uselessly. 

 

“Dude, when did this become middle school?” He mumbled, as his phone rung again. A second time, he checked, without even thinking about it. It had become routine by now.

 

_ Only if you're repairing cars that have, in your own words, “pimped out like twelve girls”. Yes, I would call that sketchy.  _ Dean snorted, remembering what he had said when Cas first picked out his terribly unclassy car. They were  _ still _ driving that thing around. Even in the game, it was embarrassing.

 

_ That is more than likely not exactly what I said. _ Dean texted back. He looked up to see Benny coming over, and he flinched just a little bit inside. He had a bad feeling about where this was going...

 

“What's so interesting over here?” He asked, taking off his cap and setting it on the table. Garth turned back with mischief in his eyes, smiling at Benny like he smiled at everyone. Benny looked just as unphased as usual.

 

“Dean's texting somebody and smiling like an idiot. I think it might be his  _ girlfriend. _ ” Garth said, turning back to Dean. Benny's eyebrows rose, and his gaze turned to Dean, too. 

 

“Winchester, you have a  _ girlfriend?  _ Why haven't you told us about her?” Benny asked. “Is she ugly?”

 

“No, she's not ugly!” Dean spat, before he could stop himself. Both the others shared a look, and he quickly tagged on, “Because  _ she _ doesn't exist, okay?”

 

“It's nothing to be ashamed of, Dean. I'm sure she has a gorgeous personality.” Garth said. Dean let out a groan, bringing a hand up to his face and rubbing it there. He knew that he was probably leaving grease all over the place, (it was already in patches all over the flannel he was wearing) but he didn't care at the moment. He was frustrated with all of the scrutinty.

 

“If she's not ugly, why aren't you telling us about her?” Benny questioned. Just then, his phone rang again. Dean saw Benny's eyes flicker to it, and he had exactly three seconds to  _ panic _ before Benny was around the table.

 

Benny grabbed Dean's wrist, pulling him against his chest. Dean wiggled away, managing to sprint a couple of steps before he was caught again, this time by Garth, who had gone around the other way. Dean wiggled out of that one and turned around, forgetting in his panic that Benny was still there. He wanted to use his karate on them, or any of his fighting training, but he was afraid he would leave permanent damage. The hesitation in his next move gave Benny the advantage that he needed; Dean found his head in a lock, and his phone being forcibly ripped from his grasp.

 

“Angel, huh? No girlfriend my ass, Winchester.” Benny said, giving a small chuckle. Dean was glad as heck that he had a lock on his phone, or else he just  _ knew _ that Benny would have unlocked it and read through his messages. Finally, he shook his way out of the head lock, glaring at both Benny and Garth for putting him in that situation. 

 

The thought,  _ I came out to have a good time and honestly I am feeling so attacked right now, _ may or may not have crossed his mind.

 

_ I can't be sure exactly, but it was something along those lines. Well, do you fix those kinds of cars? I can't be involved with a drug dealer. They could kidnap me and hold me for ransom. _ Cas had said. 

 

“We're just friends. Angel is my nickname for them.” Dean said, automatically slipping into gender-neutral pronouns. He didn't want them to find out that Cas was male; he had a feeling the teasing would start right then and there. Or, even worse, the speech about “accepting him no matter what” and all that. Chick-flick stuff.

 

“Alright then boys, leave him alone and get back to your jobs.” Came the voice of Bobby. Dean turned and looked at him like he was his own personal guardian angel. “Break is twenty seconds from being over and if I don't see all of you idjits working on a new car in that time, I'm going to make sure none of you see the light except through an engine or a flashlight for the next six hours.”

 

“Isn't going that long without giving us a break against regulations?” Garth asked. Only from him could a sentence like that sound as if he was honestly curious, rather than being rebellious or testing his limits.

 

“Would you like to find out?” Bobby asked. Garth shrugged, smile still on his face, and walked away. Bobby turned to Dean, and his phone incriminatingly rang in his hand. Bobby's eyes flickered to it, and Dean was almost certain that he was going to tell him to put it away until the end of the day. His heart sank down to his feet. “I'm only letting you get away with texting on the job because you've been working faster the last few days. Slow down and I will not hesitate to make you leave your phone in my office until it becomes an artifact. Are we clear?”

 

Dean eagerly nodded his head, sighing in relief. Bobby turned around, and he immediately checked his messages.  _ Of course, in that situation, I would trust you would have me returned safely. _

 

_ What, like when the prince saves the princess from the dragon? _ Dean questions. 

 

_ I don't understand that reference. And find that statement quite sexist. I believe the princess would be more than capable of saving the prince from the dragon, should he be abducted. _ Angel responded.

 

_ Well, of course. I was just-- never mind. Wait, are you implying that I'd still be the princess? Really, dude? _ Dean questioned.

 

Just then, another car pulled up, needing to have all four tires replaced. He frowned at the condition of the old ones before propping the car up, taking the drill to the tires and undoing them one by one. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and hurried to finish his task, eager to get to the point where he would be able to respond. He saw then what Bobby meant when he said that it made Dean faster; he was always excited to answer Cas, so he felt like he had more energy. It was a nice effect, especially since he'd woken up late that morning (up late last night trying to finish their second solo mission), so he had skipped on the coffee.

 

_Why, would you be offended if I was implying that? Why do either of us need to be the princess?_ Cas questioned.  _I find your logic generally confusing._

 

This gave Dean a pause. That was one thing that had been bothering him lately; his and Cas's interaction made him happy. He'd given up on pretending like he didn't like Cas after the night they had phone sex. He'd spent a lot of time thinking on it, and he'd finally come to the conclusion that maybe-- a big maybe-- he did like dudes. But, of course, not all dudes. Just Cas.  _Plus,_ he tagged on, just to himself,  _You don't even know what the dude looks like. You could meet him and be instantly repulsed._

 

Well, with that little tidbit finally coming into light, Dean had been the slightest bit worried that this would somehow affect his manliness. From what he'd heard, somebody  _always_ had to be the bottom in the relationship, the submissive, the one who has emotions and likes kids and wears pink out in public. Which really was faulty logic, because Dean knew good and well that none of these things were necessarily true about women. He wasn't sure why he applied this logic to gay guys and gay guys alone, but he had never really questioned it before. He'd never had a reason to, until now.

 

Of course, Castiel's words had been revolutionary to Dean. Maybe... Maybe there was a chance that he could like a guy like Cas (clearly manly and commanding) and not start to lose bits of himself in a stereotype? Maybe neither one of them had to be the princess, and they could  _both_ be freaking awesome princess that ran around saving people everywhere from dragons  _before_ they got rescued by some dick waffle who would demand their hand in marriage as return? Dean found he actually really liked that idea.

 

He liked it a lot.

 

_Okay then, we'll both be awesome princes who save literally everyone and eventually become awesome kings. Oh, and we'll make sure all the villagers in our kingdoms know how to protect themselves from supernatural creatures. It'll be sick._

 

_Your fantasy sounds significantly better that way. Of course, I pity your kingdom. You would have no political knowledge of any kind._ Cas said. Dean let out a little huff at that; he'd totally have political knowledge, screw him! He knew about the president and how bills became laws ( _I'm just a bill, up on Capitol hill~_ Dean briefly sang to himself) and everything. He would totally be an awesome king.

 

Okay, yeah, even he knew he was being stupid. Cas was right; despite playing as many MMRPG games as he possibly could, he would never be able to wrap his mind around the actual dealings of a real-life court. He knew that politics wasn't as easy as it seemed to somebody with an outside perspective.

 

_Well, we'll just have to unite the kingdoms and I'll have you take care of all the political crap while I'm the face of the campaign. After all, I'm hot as hell and everybody knows hot people demand respect._ Dean said. 

 

_Unite the kingdoms? You do realize that often implies marriage, correct? Was that a flirtation?_

 

Dean felt his face heat up red. He had finished with the tire change and had moved on to the oil change, and he was grateful that nobody could see his face at this moment. Was he flirting with Castiel? They hadn't talked about the phone incident since then, but... Maybe it would be okay to let himself relax and flirt, just a little bit? One or two texts couldn't hurt anything. Still, Dean couldn't quite make up his mind.

 

_Maybe._ He sent, his stomach twisting up into knots of uncertainty. He went back to working, finishing the entire car's tire changes before his phone started ringing again. He checked, almost afraid to see the answer.

 

_Well, I'll have you know that it's typical in matters such as these for you to court me before offering to buy a ring. You're impulsive; you'd definitely need my help._ Cas said. Dean wasn't quite sure if that was a yes or not, but it was good enough for him. At least it wasn't death and doom and imminent destruction for daring to say anything. Sometimes, it felt like that was what it would be like if he did ever try and flirt with a dude. Of course, he should have known better, from Cas. He seemed entirely content to leave things as they were, Dean initiating any flirting that took place and being (sometimes overly) respectful of his boundaries, while still managing to keep things interesting between them. 

 

Dean was absolutely certain that if he decided right then that he never wanted to flirt with a guy again, Castiel would support his decision, and wouldn't push him for anything that would make him uncomfortable. Castiel felt like the kind of person Dean himself strived to be; a “If you're happy, I'm happy” kind of guy.

 

_Well thanks. I'm sure the people will be grateful. We don't even have to try and win any wars; you'll just hack the other king's facebook account and he'll roll over like a domesticated dog._ Dean said. Laughing to himself. Because no matter how bad his jokes were, they were still awesome. You couldn't convince him otherwise. 

 

That was another thing Dean loved about Castiel. Unless he just didn't get the joke all together (which was often, because Dean had a wide array of pop culture references he used) he always managed to give a small, half-assed chuckle or said something in return that made Dean laugh. Dean loved it when people actually responded to his jokes and terrible puns, because it made him feel sort of special. Most people just rolled their eyes and shook their heads, albeit a small smile on their faces. Castiel's reactions made him feel paid attention to. Cas made him feel important. Dean could honestly say that other than Sam, nobody really had that kind of power over him.

 

_Ahhh, I suppose. Kingdoms don't sound as exciting if they were in modern day, do they? I don't want to rule at all, now that I think about it. I'd like to work on a nice bee farm._

 

 

_A bee farm? Dude, what kind of a wish is that?_ Dean demanded, scrunching up his eyes. He didn't take Castiel for the country life. Then again, the area code on his number only told him the state that Castiel lived in, nothing about the  _environment_ he lived in. He could live in the country boon docks of New York, for all that Dean knew. If those even existed. He wasn't entirely sure.

 

_A realistic one. Honey bees are quickly going extinct thanks to large, African bees that have come over in recent shipments. They take over hives. That mixed with a rare disease killing off honeybees means that soon, all the true honey bees may well be dead. That is, unless somebody steps up and preserves some of them. As the honey bees die, the price of honey will skyrocket and it will become a delicacy that surpasses even caviar in price. So, it will be a very fulfilling business decision._

 

Dean stared at his phone blankly. Where the hell did the guy know all this stuff from?

 

_I just never took you as the nature type._ He decides to respond. That car is now entirely finished, and a new one rolls up, needing new repairs. He does his work trying not to feel sympathy for the bees Cas had spoken of. He, for one, loved honey. 

 

_I would have to live somewhere vaguely close to a town. Somewhere with a nice internet connection, perhaps. However, I would gladly give up the ability to walk to whatever store I desire if I could raise bees. The country is worth the peace. Of course, I would never be able to do it alone. I would need a partner or a mate to keep me company._ Cas explained. 

 

_Well then, Cas, if you ever get the chance, I would love to open a bee farm with you._ Dean said, surprised at his own honesty.  _Of course, only if it was somewhere I could keep my job. Honey is nice, but there aint nothing like working on cars for a living._

 

_Of course. I would be quite pleased to have your company. Then again, for all you know, I could be a pedophile._

 

_Come on Cas, I know you're not a pedo. Hopefully. I mean, you're not like, secretly 70 and touching yourself to thoughts of me every time we talk, right? I'm not gonna open my front door one day and you're standing there, somehow knowing where I live._

 

_You're forgetting Dean, I'm a hacker. I technically saw your address when I found your email. If I wanted to show up on your doorstep, I would have by now._

 

_Yeah, I'm glad that you haven't. That would be just a little creepy. Then again, I trust that you're not a pedophile. I may be 27, but that's not that young. I totally get five o'clock shadow and everything._

 

_Alright, Dean. If you say so._

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The end of the day came much too fast for Dean. He was packing up his stuff, changing out of his “work” clothes, his cell phone switching pockets to his regular pants.

 

“Hey, Dean, how ab out you come out to the bar with us tonight? It's been too long since we've sat down and had a good time, buddy.” Garth announced, reaching up to ruffle Dean's hair. He flinched from the touch, knowing that his hair was sweaty as heck and that _could not be sanitary._ He would normally jump at the offer, but today, he just wanted to get home and shower. Plus, he couldn't text Cas if he was at the bar, or else risk a whole nother round of questions and teasing.

 

He shook is head no, which was met with the combined protests of the two in front of him.

 

“Come on, Dean! You deserve it!”

 

“It's been too long, Buddy. Don't leave me to get drinks with just sunshine here.”

 

“I'm not sure whether or not to resent that. Actually, I think I kind of like it.”

 

“GUYS!” Dean yelled, breaking up the fight. He had an idea; his guild was already coming to the Christmas party, why not prove to Sam that he had people he hung out with in real life, too? “I have a better idea. How about we just forget about all of that drink stuff. I'm throwing an incredibly out of season Christmas party next week, why don't you come to that instead?” Dean proposed.

 

There was a long pause.

 

“Christmas is my favourite holiday.” Garth said, breaking the silence that had settled over them.

 

“Okay, then it's settled.” Dean announced. “You guys leave me alone for now, and you'll come to my place this Saturday.”

 

Twin nods met his decision.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I said about African bees and disorders killing off bees is true. If you'd like to learn more, (the disease is CCD) here are some links.
> 
> http://www.utahcountybeekeepers.org/africanized_honey_bees.html
> 
> http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/
> 
> SAVE THE HONEYBEE!
> 
> Also, if anybody wants to open a bee farm with me, I am open to the idea. Not until after I've traveled the world, though, of course ;-) Can't settle down too soon~.
> 
> Please comment, I live off of them.


	8. Thank Chuck for Elevator Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late. I have an excuse I promise. If you follow me on tumblr I'm about to go type out a huge and emotional rant about my questionable life choices. So yeah.
> 
> Thank you for the support so far. My end goal for total number of kudos for this story is 100, so we're getting close very fast! I'm happy as hell about it. Only 23 more kudos needed :-)
> 
> I've only gotten one comment on the last two chapters, I would love some more if you guys wouldn't mind.
> 
> This chapter's ending is a bit of a "the moment you've all been waiting for" reveal. Good luck.

Dean stared at the computer screen, cursing himself yet again. He kept pausing in the middle of fights to respond to Castiel's messages, which usually resulted in him being dead. It wasn't like he could actually help it; it was a reflex now. He heard Castiel's ring tone (“The Fallen”, because it made Dean chuckle) and reached for his phone before he even realized himself what he was doing.

 

“Hunter, are you feeling a little distracted today? It's okay if you can't play.” Came Charlie's voice through the speakers. She had a smidgen of concern in her voice. Dean was grateful to have a friend who cared about him.

 

“I'm fine, sorry. I'm just texting my Angel and it gets distracting, you know?” He admitted, not even realizing how terribly endearing that sounded until it was already too late. “Because he keeps texting me. I don't want to be rude.” Dean quickly added on, as if that would make things better somehow. It didn't.

 

“Awww, so he's _your_ angel now? Dean, that's beautiful.” Jo said. “When did you two make it official?”

 

“I'm not sure whether I should barf or cry.” Ash added. “That's so touching.”

 

“Oh, cut it out. Leave him alone, will you two? If he really does have a crush on the guy, you're probably traumatizing him.” Charlie defended, finishing off with a cry of victory as she delivered the final blow to the high-level wizard they were all fighting. Dean figured that not much more would come at him right then, and risked glancing at his phone.

 

_Okay then, I suppose it's my turn? Where would be the perfect vacation spot for you?_ Castiel asked.

 

Dean smiled a little bit. Him and Cas had ran out of topics on the way home from work, and he had suggested that they play a game. One would ask a question that they would both have to answer  _honestly,_ and if somebody refused to answer the question or got called out on a lie, the other person would win. They took turns on the questions, and Dean was grateful for that. He didn't have very many questions other than the cliché as hell stuff (favorite color, favorite food, etc.), but Cas had questions that were clever. So, they made a nice balance between stupid questions and good ones.

 

_I think I'd probably have to go with Kansas. I grew up there when I was really small. It'd be nice to go back. Or just go on a road trip in general. I know all the best places to sleep and eat and get a beer, thanks to all the moving as a kid. It would be fun to revisit places like those. Especially if I had somebody with me._ Dean sent. He raised his eyes back to the computer screen and quickly picked up his mouse, moving his character forward again. He was behind all the other players by now, and the headphones were blaring battle music.

 

“Hey lover boy, get your head out of the clouds. We're getting smashed by this stupid pig-goblin thing.” Jo said.

 

“I'm pretty sure it's a warthog on two legs, Jo.” Ash put in.

 

“Don't patronize me.” She spat, going at the thing full force. Jo's character couldn't take a hit, but she could sure as hell give one. Not to mention that she was working on improving her stamina, and it was coming along fairly good. Dean would always be their strongest hand-to-hand combat player, but it could never hurt to have a couple of other people who could deliver. Especially if he kept zoning out on them.

 

He got a couple of hits in on the “warthog”, and it fell to the ground. Perfect timing, too, because his phone vibrated against the wood of the coffee table. He leaned forward and grabbed it again, eagerly unlocking the screen.

 

_I would go somewhere with a lot of nature. Probably the Isle of Skye. Honestly though, I've always wanted to road trip, too. It would be great to see what the country looks like from all over._ Cas had replied. Dean glanced up to see that three more of the warthogs had appeared out of nowhere, and his team mates were in trouble. He quickly typed out his response before throwing his phone back onto the table, resuming the game.

 

_Maybe we could road trip together?_

 

Dean was nervous as hell about the text. Cas and he, despite knowing that they both lived in the same state, had never once talked about meeting up. Of course, they'd only known each other for two weeks, so he figured it was standard for an online relationship. I mean, they didn't even know what each other looked like. It would feel weird making plans to meet up. Maybe Dean was moving too fast with this. Maybe Castiel was going to get weirded out by the question and stop texting him.

 

He felt a weird twist in his stomach. He'd already admitted to himself that he had a crush on the guy, but he had yet to realize just how completely Castiel had become a part of his life. He honestly, just two weeks from meeting him, couldn't picture going back to the way things were. He couldn't bring himself to think about never speaking to Castiel, leaving his phone in his work locker, rewatching crappy old movies in the time that he now spent on Angel/Demon Alliance. He didn't honestly care if Castiel liked him back the same way; he just didn't want to  _lose_ him. Even if they stayed just friends, Dean wanted him to be there. Then again, maybe that was selfish.

 

He forced himself to stop thinking about it, turning his attention back to the game. He quickly pulled a warthog off of Jo, slamming it into the ground and causing it to lose half of its health. Two more hits later (one from him, one from Jo's favourite spell) and he was out. With him and Jo both free, Charlie and Ash were quickly on even grounds with their opponents. Soon, all the warthogs lay around them in ruin, and they had the amulet that they had been guarding. The treasure, after a guild vote, had been rewarded to Jo. (It upped her defense by three points, so she was more than grateful for the helpful item).

 

Dean heard his phone vibrate. It was then that he realized that it had been almost ten minutes since he'd sent his last text. He immediately lunged for the offending item, almost sending his laptop to the floor. He managed to save it from falling just in time, and he sighed in relief as he caught it, his right hand still clasped tightly around the phone he had tried so desperately to reach.

 

_I think I would like that. You knowing all of the hot spots would certainly make the experience more pleasurable for both of us. I wouldn't be able to do all of the driving by myself, anyways._

 

Dean gave a sigh of relief. His phone buzzed a second time, a new message appearing right below the first.

 

_Going together would also be cost effective. If both of us were comfortable with it, we could share a motel room and split the cost of gas money._

 

Dean's eyebrow rose. Sharing a motel room, now  _that_ was an interesting idea... Kissing Castiel against a shady motel wall, squeezing into one bed, sloppy, half-asleep morning sex...

 

He chased the idea out of his mind, clearing his throat. He felt a little bad for having the thought in the first place. The guy had just recommended they share a room, and Dean's mind had gone straight down the gutter. He couldn't believe that they were on the same page with this, though. He was happy.

 

“Something to say, Hunter?” Jo asked. Dean paused, vaguely confused. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that he was wearing his headphones, meaning they would have been able to hear his throat clearing.

 

“Uh, no, not at all.” He clarified, texting Castiel back fast, as not to arouse suspicion. _That sounds great to me, dude. You've got to let me pick the music, though. I can't believe you've never heard_ Smoke on the Water. _That's like, a crime against humanity._

 

“Okay, then don't just sit there. We're all going to the treasure caves again. Are you coming with this time, or no?” Jo asked, seeming just the slightest bit annoyed. He really couldn't blame her that much. Even he had to admit that he was acting more distracted than he should allow himself to be. He kept stopping and texting Cas, and had let his team mates die several times in the process of responding to his many messages. If he were on the other side of this, he would be pissed as hell at whoever he was playing with.

 

“Sorry Jo.” He said sheepishly. “Alright, I'll try to stay more focused now.”

 

He would, of course. In between texting Castiel, he would be more focused on the game. And he might even stop the automatic twist of his wrist towards the phone, just until the battle was over. He would be a good sport and a team player. He gave a huff, centering himself and looking towards the screen with a new found determination.

 

A determination that quickly cracked when his phone sounded again.

 

_A crime against humanity? No, it was a crime against humanity that you hadn't heard about the debate on whether or not the Mona Lisa was actually supposed to have eyebrows or not. I'm just not pop culture savvy._

 

“DEAN, PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND HELP WITH THE TROLL!” Shouted Jo. He quickly returned to the laptop, getting in a couple of blows. As soon as the thing as down, though, he quickly lunged back towards his phone, having forgone the option of texting Cas back to help his friends. Great, now he felt guilty about that. There was no way he could juggle everything the way he was trying to.

 

_Normal people don't know stuff like that. There's a difference in not being “pop culture savvy” and acting like you've lived under a cave your entire life. I bet you haven't even seen the Star Wars movies, with the way you talk sometimes._

 

… _._

 

_Oh god, you haven't._

 

“Stop picking on him. He's just having some troubles concentrating. I'm sure he's fine. I sort of understand how he feels, actually.” Charlie admitted, sounding a little bit sheepish. “I got the email to beta the game that he's working on now, so I decided to give it a whirl. They had just gotten a third species option, so I was excited for it. I was a human and chose to get paired up with an “Earthen-Fairy”. The dialogue in the game is slightly altered, but for the most part, it's the same. You really don't realize how close you can get with someone so fast when you're sort of forced to. My partner's name is Gilda, and we're texting now, too.”

 

“Oh great, that's the two of them. Now only Ash and I can claim the singles status.” Jo said.

 

“Don't blame us. The game is actually creating a reputation for starting friendships and relationships. There's already fanfiction out the wazoo with this thing. Angel/Demon is the most popular so far, but Human/Fairy is rising in popularity.”

 

“Guys, I'm not in love with this dude or anything. Don't act like it's more serious than what it is. I'm just crap at trying to multitask, okay?” Dean said, frustrated. God, they were so embarrassing.

 

“Okay then. We're just teasing with you, Dean. Sorry if I snapped.” Jo admitted. Dean could tell that it had taken a lot for her to swallow her pride and say that, and he was more than grateful for the sincerity in her voice. He really was the one at fault here, but his friends were great and understanding enough to let it go. Not for the first time, he thought about how he probably didn't deserve them.

 

_I haven't exactly had the time to indulge in these. Most of my time is spent working or dragging my drunken brother Balthazar out of terrible situations._

 

_What sort of terrible situations?_

 

_He ends up in bar fights constantly. I usually have to go and retrieve him from alleyways or sidewalks so he doesn't end up arrested for public intoxication or worse._

 

_That has to suck for you, man. I drink sometimes but I never overdo it that much. It's pretty douchey of him to put you in those kinds of situations..._

 

_I do it out of love. I suppose Balthazar can be a bit “douchey” at times. His behaviour is really something you have to get used to. We were close as children, and I've retained some of the sentiment, which is probably why I still put up with it. The worst is when I get there and the fight's not quite over. I can handle my own fairly well, but I would prefer to stay out of trouble for the time being._

 

_He drags you into his fights? Ugh. You shouldn't let him treat you like that. I don't care if he is your brother; your real family is the family you choose. If I were you, I would definitely not choose him._

 

_I can see what you mean. He's gotten me out of rough places too though, and actually connected me with the man currently employing me. Some of his “favours” he does without asking and they end up a pain in my ass, but he always means well._

 

Dean was getting a little better at picking more appropriate times to respond. He wouldn't die as much, the team wasn't as angry with him, and he still managed to keep up a fairly good flow with texting Castiel. He felt his stomach rumble, and shifted a little bit, uncomfortably. He wanted to go and get something to eat, but he was juggling too much at the moment to go and get something and try to eat it all at the same time. His stomach growled insistantly, and he gave a small sigh. It was 5:20 anyways, he would have to get off in about a half an hour to game with Cas.

 

“Guys, I probably have to hop off now. I'm hungry as hell and have to meet up with Cas soon, anyways.”

 

“Like, in person? Oh my god, send me a picture when you two finally make out.” Jo enthused. Dean felt his eye give a small twitch.

 

“Very funny, _Joanna._ ” He said, knowing that she hated it when people used her whole name.

 

“Bye, Dean. See ya next time!” Charlie said. Jo and Ash yelled out their goodbyes at the same time, and Dean immediately logged off. This wasn't the first time they had spoken at the same time, so he knew that there was a fight going on right now as to who _actually_ said it first. The two were not only insane, but more alike than they'd ever admit. Dean just thought that they needed to get it over with and kiss already.

 

_Okay, we got way off topic here. Let's try... Favourite dessert?_

 

_Honestly, I don't eat a lot of sweets. My favourite food is hamburgers, though._

 

_Man, I can cook a mean hamburger. My favourite dessert is pie, of any variety, but apple is the best._

 

_Ah, interesting. Not a lot of people put much into pie. Let's see... What was your favourite class in high school?_

 

Dean walked into his kitchen, rummaging through his cabinet, leaning forward to try and pick something good out. Unfortunately, everywhere he looked was met with dust and empty scotch bottles. He grabbed a handfull of them and dumped them in the trash can, giving a dissatisfied glare towards the kitchen in general. There was really no way he could put it off any longer-- He needed to go grocery shopping.

 

_Hey, just so you know, I might be a little late for our meeting. I have to go run some errands because living by yourself sucks. My favourite class was probably Drama, don't you dare make fun of me, because I sat next to this really hot girl and got to play her boyfriend once. I was only in the class a couple of months before we moved, and I sucked, but yeah. I could have seen myself really liking it if we had stayed longer and I had gotten good._

 

_My favourite class was history. I'm fascinated by other cultures throughout the ages. That's fine, I was actually going to have to call off anyways. My boss wants me to meet him at a coffee shop to discuss a new game the company is working on._

 

_Oh, well that sucks like hell._

 

Dean strolled out of his apartment, wallet in his pocket, destination intended for the supermarket down the street. He stepped onto the elevator and watched as the doors slowly began to close.

 

Last minute, a slim hand worked its way in between the closing doors, and they swung open again. Dean made a face, (he was a little claustrophobic) until he saw that it was the man with the trench coat. Fascinating blue eyes met his as the other stepped into the elevator. He reached out to push a button, but once he saw that the bottom floor was already selected, he nodded and stepped away. Albeit he looked a little bit awkward, but Dean couldn't help flashing back to him wearing that armor. Damn, that was a nice sight.

 

“So, you're into that whole renaissance thing?” He asked, before he could help himself. The other man turned towards him, his expression neutral, and Dean just sort of... stood there. He wasn't entirely sure what he should do. He was slightly afraid he may have offended the man.

 

“Yes, I'm “into that whole renaissance thing”. I wouldn't have worn around that armor without a reason. I don't typically draw unnecessary attention to myself.”

 

Dean froze, entirely. He knew that voice. In fact, there was literally no way on this earth that he could mistake it. He'd been hearing it every night of his life for the last two weeks.

 

“ _Cas?_ ” He choked out. The other man's lip quirked up, into a tight smile, and his eyes gleamed with humour.

 

And, as fate would have it, the elevator chose _right then_ to stop working, leaving them stranded in the small room together for god only knew how long.

 


	9. Talking in an Elevator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr has officially changed back to MysticMoonhigh, so if you'd like to follow me, you should do that thing :-) I worked hard last night typing this out because dear lord, it seemed to take forever to actually get 3,000 words out! XD. Next chapter the coffee (date?) trip!
> 
> Oh, I will probably be opening my etsy later today. So if you want to check it out (later as in around four) my username will be MysticMonarch1998
> 
> Thank you guys for the wonderful response this has gotten so far, you all have my deepest gratitude! Last chapter got EIGHT COMMENTS. I was expecting four. This was a wonderful surprise!

“I was wondering when you would put two and two together, Dean. You're not very perceptive.” Castiel commented, smirking just the smallest bit. Dean felt a little smothered when he turned completely, putting the full force of his eyes to use. They scanned up and down Dean's body, in a weirdly non-sexual way.

 

Dean almost couldn't think. He'd lived next to Castiel for a _year_ now. At least. He'd passed him in hallways, he'd seen him walking to and from the store, he'd watched him have conversations with the ancient tenant. He'd _checked out the dude's ass._ His head was reeling from all the memories that were flooding him, especially from the last two weeks. It had been Cas all along; how the hell had he not known?

 

“You _knew?_ ” He asked, just then processing what Castiel had said. “You knew and you _didn't say anything?_ ”

 

“I wanted you to figure out yourself.” Castiel said, giving a shrug. “The likelihood of this happening was one in a million at the least. I figured I'd wait it out and see how long it would take you to notice.”

 

“How long have _you_ known?” Dean asked, before he could stop himself.

 

“Almost since we've been talking. It's nice to be able to really get a good look at you, though.” Cas said, sounding vaguely pleased. His eyes raked up and down Dean's body again, and Dean felt a little self conscious. “Before, I was averting my eyes so as not to draw excess attention. I wanted to see how long it would be before something gave it away.”

 

“That's.... Oddly scientific.” Dean said slowly, blinking. He lifted a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes downward, his hand briefly catching on his stubble as he did. He suddenly realized that, had he known he was meeting the man he was interested in, he definitely would have shaved. Oh well.

 

“Yes. It appears as if the faulty elevator was the prime factor in your piecing it together. I'm guessing we have Chuck to thank for that.” Cas mumbled, glaring at the buttons. As if it were their fault the elevator stopped working. They were just doing their jobs. Cas needed to lay off the poor things.

 

“Who's Chuck?” Dean questions. Because, out of all the things you can say to someone you've been pining after for the last week and just recently met, asking about a name is top on his list, apparently.

 

“Chuck is the elevator maintenance man. He also unclogs sinks and toilets in his spare time. He's usually in the boiler room, but he's nice to talk to. One of the more interesting members of the staff, actually. In his spare time, he gets paid to write biographies.”

 

“Oh.” Dean says. Cas just nods, and suddenly, the very small (Dean just noticed how small—Cas and him couldn't be more than three feet away) elevator became very awkward. Dean couldn't stop staring at Castiel, his eyes, his strong jaw line, that absolutely delicious sex hair all mussed up like somebody had been running their fingers through it... Not only that, but Dean knew from previous experience that he had a great ass. He leaned forward involuntarily, his eyes working their way back up Castiel's body and to his vivid eyes again. It occurs to him that he's just checked Castiel out.

 

Before he can stop himself, he mumbles, “Your eyes _are_ really blue.”

 

Instead of looking uncomfortable, Castiel leans forward a little bit too, and Dean realizes that he may have involuntarily taken a step forward while looking Cas up and down, because they're _close._ As in, Dean can literally feel the heat and vibrancy of the other man's body, he can smell the faintly oceanic scent (with undertones of tea and honey), and his eyes flicker to his full lips before he can help himself.

 

“Your eyes are green. Odd, they looked brown from further away.” Castiel says, clearly.

 

Dean suddenly feels like if Cas doesn't back away, he's going to _have_ to kiss him _right then._ So, he clears his throat, leaning back a bit. “Cas? Personal space.” He says, gruffly.

 

“My apologies.” Cas says, nodding towards him and stepping back. Dean clears his throat and follows Castiel's lead, stepping back until he hits the wall. He feels his legs tire, and realizes that they could be standing here for _hours_ if this “Chuck” doesn't get his butt over to the elevator and fix it. So, he slowly lets his back slide down the wall, letting out a puff of air.

 

“Well, we're going to be here for awhile, might as well sit down. Come on.” Dean says, patting the ground. Castiel's eyes flicker towards where his hand is before he plops himself down all at once, his trench coat flaring out behind him. He managed to stay upright. Where most people would have smiled at the move, he still had a blank expression on his face, like he was a six year old who had been told she couldn't have iced cream but felt as though she was too mature to pout.

 

“Well, now that we've established we live in the same general vicinity, I suppose it would make actually going on that road trip a lot easier.” Castiel says, as a conversation starter. Dean thinks he's joking around for a second, but he looks entirely serious. Cas really trusts him enough to go on a road trip together.

 

He thinks there's a chance he might literally explode from happiness. The connection he felt, the trust that had developed, Cas felt that too. Suddenly Dean relaxed, all at once. Sure, he was a little more intimidating in real life, but this was the same person he'd been talking to for weeks. He shouldn't feel awkward around him.

 

“Yeah, that it would. Actually, it would be easier to meet up period.” Dean said. Then, something dawned on him. “I could drag you over to my house and make you watch Star Wars.”

 

“I'm quite busy this week, but I'd love to find some time if you desired so. Would something Saturday work for you?” Castiel asked. Dean felt the lightbulb above his head flicker to life. It had a small layer of dust blown off, but other than that, it was pristine.

 

“I actually have a Christmas in July party my brother wants me to throw that day. If you wanted to come over and meet him and the guild, I would love to have you. That would be awesome.” Dean enthused, smiling. For the first time since they sat down, Cas's lip quirked up.

 

“That sounds pleasant. I bake a mean fruit cake.” Castiel quips. Dean's mind immediately goes to a brick with an angry face drawn on it sitting on a plate.

 

“Dude, fruit cakes are of the devil. Are you sure you want to go there?” He teases, “Besides, pie is better than cake.”

 

“Not all fruit cake is cooked by Satan, I believe.” Cas replies, as serious as one could be while delivering that line, “I'm going to force you to try it if you continue to blaspheme.”

 

“I bet you couldn't. I'm all muscle. Look at this,” Dean enthuses, raising an arm and flexing his bicep. Castiel shakes his head, and suddenly, they're both laughing. It's a glorious sound, and Dean thinks that he wouldn't mind hearing it every day for the rest of his life. Both of them are literally sitting on the floor in a room so small a husband and wife would be uncomfortable, and they're not batting an eyelash. They're laughing and talking and joking, absorbing each other's presence.

 

“I told you I can hold my own. I'll bet you're not as strong as you look.” Cas says, once they've both settled down. Suddenly, Dean leans forward, getting closer to Castiel.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry, is that a challenge? Because I gladly accept.” Dean says flippantly. Castiel raises an eyebrow.

 

“We'll have to do that another time, I'm afraid. It appears as though the elevator is moving again.” Cas points out. Dean feels the world begin to shift, and he realizes that Cas is right. He and Cas both quickly right themselves, standing up as the elevator comes to a halt. Cas straightens his blue tie ( _it makes his eyes pop,_ thinks Dean) before giving Dean a quick nod and moving forward, out of the elevator.

 

Dean stumbles after, his legs having fallen asleep from being in an awkward position for so long. He hops as he walks out of the elevator, hissing as pins and needles go up and down his legs. He sees Castiel watching him, slightly amused, and flips him off. His stomach suddenly sinks as he realizes that he's leaving to go and get coffee with his boss. Dean was going to have to say goodbye after only five minutes of talking to him.

 

“Wait.” Dean calls out, before he can stop himself. Castiel turns, his expression patient as Dean fumbles for a reason to get him to stay just a little bit longer. “We can test who's stronger now. Come over to the desk and we'll arm wrestle. He can be the judge.” Dean gestures towards a partially grease covered man who has just exited the boiler room. Cas nods his head.

 

Dean feels slightly triumphant as he walks back over to him.

 

“Chuck would be an excellent judge. I think arm wrestling sounds reasonable, though I've never honestly attempted it myself.” Cas explains, stopping at the front desk. Dean quickly follows him, slipping behind it and shrugging off his jacket. He would only be there for a few minutes; he'd be fine to step behind it for the time being. His forearms revealed, he slung an arm up on the table, flexing his biceps again in a move that was supposed to be intimidating.

 

Castiel looked entirely unfazed by his show. He simply shrugged off his trench coat in an imitation of the move that Dean had just taken, setting his own arm on the table. Dean couldn't help that he noticed how the fabric clung to Castiel's muscles. Cas wasn't typically one for showing off, but he didn't need to flex for Dean to see how powerful and sculpted he was.

 

He felt the other's hand grip his own, and he felt his knees go weak. The warmth radiating off of his angel was more intoxicating than the strongest scotch, and the feel of his surprisingly soft skin was all Dean could think about. Dean felt his face heat up as he realized that they were basically holding hands right now. Well, in a very macho way.

 

He was entirely enticed by Castiel's hands, actually. They were thin and lithe, they reminded him of a hand model's. All Dean could think about was how Castiel's hand would look wrapped around his cock, pumping and twisting and milking him for all he was worth. He felt his blush leave as his blood immediately redirected to his lower quadrant. _Damn it,_ why did Cas have to be good looking on top of it all?

 

“So I'm judging this?” Chuck asked. Cas gave a tight nod, his eyes still fiercely locked with Dean's. “Go, then.”

 

Before Dean even had time to react, his hand was (surprisingly gently) shoved back onto the table, crippling under the weight of Castiel's bruising strength. He stared for a moment, in utter disbelief, before he looked back up towards Castiel. He wasn't smiling or gloating his victory, just had a neutral expression, as if he had expected to win. Dean opened his mouth as if to say something, but had a hard time forcing anything out.

 

“I wasn't ready.” He finally excused, clearing his throat. Castiel smirked then, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Come on, two out of three.” Dean enthused, picking his hand back up. He quickly concentrated on something other than what he had previously been thinking, (hoping his erection would fade away before he had to get out from behind the desk) hoping to actually gain back some of his masculinity.

 

“Okay then. If I win, you have to try some of my fruit cake at the Christmas party.” Cas said, putting his own hand back in Dean's. Dean contemplated for a moment before giving a tight nod, flexing his jaw as he did.

 

Their hands were touching again, their eyes met, but this time, Dean's mind was on the prize. Chuck called for the go, and Dean pushed with all of his might, giving a soft growl of irritation as Castiel refused to move. Dean's eyes flickered back down to their hands, pushing just a little bit harder.

 

Cas was remaining calm and cool. When Dean glanced back up, he didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat. In fact, he looked like he was actually _enjoying_ the experience, like he got some kind of twisted pleasure out of watching Dean struggle to achieve his goal. Dean briefly wondered if he was actually _into_ that sort of thing, and in his mental lapse, found his hand an inch closer to the table.

 

He cleared his mind again, determined to prove himself. He didn't want to have to try the fruit cake, for god's sake, why did he have to agree to that? He felt himself lose another inch as Castiel flexed his arm again, and he pushed back even harder. His whole arm was shaking from the effort, and his breathing was slow and practiced. He gave a mighty push, gaining back about half of an inch. Another glance up proved that Castiel didn't look worried at all, and he _still_ wasn't struggling.

 

Dean felt his feet start to lose purchase on the floor, but he held out for as long as he could. Eventually, Castiel's muscles flexed one last time, and he stumbled to the floor as his hand hit the counter top. He quickly recovered, jumping up and putting both arms across the counter to leave his hip hanging in mid air, rather than crashing into the cool tile beneath.

 

Castiel held out his left hand to help Dean, his face still the same blank canvas it was before. “Sorry if I made you fall.” he said. Dean took the hand and allowed himself to be pulled up, feeling the tips of his ears redden again as he realized that they were weirdly holding hands again.

 

“No, it's fine. I'm just a little clumsy.” Dean admitted. On the bright side, his dick had lost interest in the situation right after he had to stop himself from breaking his hip. That was always good news.

 

“I hope you'll enjoy the fruit cake.” Castiel said, surprisingly warmly. Dean's eyes narrowed as he looked the man up and down.

 

“You knew you could beat me and you still let me do this. What kind of a friend are you?”

 

“The kind that wants you to partake in traditional holiday deserts.”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“Hey, not in the lobby!” Chuck teased from the side lines. “The last couple who did that, believe it or not, got kicked out.”

 

The words rang in Dean's head. They swam around and around again and again. “The last couple”. Did this guy just imply that he and Cas were a couple? And that they were going to have sex in the lobby? When did that thought become so arousing for him?

 

“No, no, no! We're, uh, we're,” Dean makes a wild hand gesture between himself and Cas, “Not like that, so... yeah.”

 

“Oh, right, and I'm God.” Says Chuck sarcastically. This is the point where he looks into the camera like a character off of the office and winks.

 

“No Chuck, I guarantee that Dean and I are merely friends.” Cas assured.

 

Suddenly, their little group was assaulted with a loud ringing noise, coming from Castiel's phone. He slowly lifted the device up to his ear and pressed the listen button, staying silent for a couple of seconds, listening to the man on the other end of the line speak. Instead of looking disappointed or worried, he looked relieved. He nodded his head and said okay a couple of times before finally putting down his phone and pressing 'end call', a small, satisfied smile on his face.

 

“Well, I've just been let off the hook for coffee tonight. That means I'll be free to play the game with you, if you would like, Dean.” Cas says, casually. “I actually assumed this would happen in the first place, which is why I didn't tell you until I was leaving. I have to thank you though; without you, I would already be halfway there.”

 

Suddenly, Dean got a little brave. “What, does this guy cancel on you often?”

 

“He's a very busy man, and life keeps him shut up for the most part.” Castiel admits.

 

“Then why don't you go out somewhere with me? We could go out for coffee, if you'd like.” Dean said. Castiel thought for a moment, and the time seemed to stretch on. Dean didn't realize until the words were out of his mouth just how much it sounded like he was asking Cas out on some kind of a weird first date. He cleared his throat awkwardly, leaning forward on the desk and looking anywhere else to avoid looking at Cas.

 

“I suppose that would be a nice use of my time.” Castiel said slowly. Dean had to resist the urge to fist-pump into the air. He'd gotten Castiel to say yes! Maybe this did mean the other man was interested?

 

“Okay, which coffee shop are we going to?” Dean asks, coming out from behind the counter. He offers his arm for Cas to loop his through, and gets stared at awkwardly until he almost wants to drop it. Right before he does, though, Castiel catches on and threads his arm through Dean's own.

 

“The small one on Fifth Avenue.” Cas informs him. Dean and him walk together towards the door, where they unlink so Dean can open the door. “And they say chivalry is dead.”

 

“Yeah yeah yeah, just lead the way trench coat.” Dean says, patting Cas on the shoulder.

 

As the door is shutting behind them, he hears Chuck's faint cry of, “Tell me when you two are dating!”

 


	10. Coffee Shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Anyone who checked my etsy may have noticed that it has a bit of a problem. It doesn't exist yet. My mom tried to send me pics of the merchandise but they never showed up in my yahoo, so I didn't get to make it. Hopefully I can get this fixed soon, you'll all know when it's finally up.  
> I have a feeling you'll all like this chapter! It's gonna be pretty cool.

The New York air was crisp and warm, which Dean was more than grateful for. It seemed like the perfect weather to go walking in, even if your destination was just around the street corner.

 

The butterflies in his stomach wouldn't stop, no matter how much he yelled at them that they were making him feel like a girl. He took it in stride though, watching all the other passers by, and trying not to concentrate on the way that Cas was standing so close he could feel their shoulders brush up against each other on almost every other step. He forced his eyes to the ground when other people weren't interesting enough.

 

The walk wasn't very long, though. Dean only had to keep himself from looking like a lovesick fool for about two blocks, so all was well.

 

As they walked into the coffee shop, Dean felt a little bit cold. The outside air, for once, had been warmer than the air in here. Honestly, he blamed it on the fact that this place was fairly empty. Dean looked around, and all he saw were two other people sitting right up front and the girl at the cash register, smiling at them like they had been the first customers in an hour. Seeing that the other two's coffee cups were drained and they were heatedly debating something, Dean figured this was probably accurate anyways.

 

Cas was the first to walk up, and his eyes only briefly scanned the menu. The girl leaned forward on the register, her eyes going slightly dreamy as she looked up at him. Dean looked away.

 

“Well Becky, I'm sure you know what I'm getting before I even say it, but ginger-peach tea with honey.” Cas said. 'Becky' wrote down the order, nodding to herself.

 

“It's nice to see you here without Crowley for once. Who is this?” She questioned, looking over at Dean. Her eyes narrowed a little bit. “Not your date, I hope?”

 

“No, he's a friend who lives in my apartments.” Castiel assured. Dean saw Becky visibly relax, and he tried to hold back a small puff of anger. Castiel was clearly showing no interest beyond being friendly, the girl really needed to back off. She was coming on strong for _Dean's_ taste, and he had a feeling that Castiel was vastly different than he was when it came to how forward he wanted his partners. From the way Cas was acting though, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Dean could almost imagine that he didn't know Becky was flirting at all.

 

“Well in that case, what would you like, sir?” Becky asked. Dean's eyes scanned the menu.

 

“Do you have any pie?” He mumbled. Becky nodded her head, vaguely gesturing towards the menu, where three flavours were listed. Dean knew immediately which one sounded best right now. “Pecan pie then, with a cup of black coffee.”

 

Becky seemed to really _look_ at Dean then, and he felt possibly more uncomfortable in that moment than he had in his entire life. Her eyes seemed to have hearts in them as she looked at his muscles, his strong jawline, and his bright green eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, honestly considering going to hide behind Castiel. But that wasn't a very manly thing to do, so he stayed still and toughened it out.

 

“And what's your name?” Becky finally asked, a little breathless.

 

_Too old for you_ , Dean thought about replying. “Dean Winchester.”

 

She nodded her head. “Sit anywhere.” She said, gesturing towards the mainly open seats, “I'll be back out with your order as soon as I have it done.”

 

Castiel grabbed Dean's wrist then, and it was all Dean could focus on for the moment. Cas pulled both of them over to a booth in the very back, one with dim lighting and plush seats. He sat on one side of the booth, and Dean unfroze long enough to realize that he should sit down across from Castiel. 

 

Cas sat there, entirely still, his face scrunched up as if he were thinking. Dean thought it was quite possibly the most adorable thing he had seen in his entire life.

 

That was when he officially decided what he was going to do. He had to bring up the night they had phone sex (microphone sex, technically) and ask Cas how he felt about it. Or, at least, open the subject up for further discussion. Cas would be more than willing to talk about it, Dean was almost sure. Maybe, he'd even like to do it again sometime? Dean could only hope.

 

“So, Cas... Do you remember-” He started, gathering up all the nerve he possessed to try and get out the sentence.

 

“Here you two boys go! One ginger-peach tea with honey, one black coffee, and one piece of pecan pie for the boys.” She said. As soon as the items were set down in front of them, Becky laid a hand on Dean's shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably, and her hand stayed tightly clasped. He didn't have to look up to know that she was making a very pleasured face and had her eyes closed in concentration.

 

“Are you going to stop touching Dean now?” Castiel asked. His jaw seemed clenched a little tighter than usual, and he'd averted his eyes to the wall. His expression was mostly neutral, but Dean could tell there was a slightly jealous tint in his eyes. He tried not to feel accomplished, and failed miserably.

 

Becky jumped at the gruff sound of Castiel's voice, finally releasing her hold on Dean's arm. She blushed and looked around, as if testing to see if the other customers had noticed. When she found that they hadn't, she nodded her head, still hesitating to leave. “Sorry, Castiel.” She said, before finally scampering away.

 

“I'm guessing you've been the victim of some of her feel ups more than once?” Dean questioned. Castiel finally looked away from the wall, looking slightly more calm then he had before. Dean couldn't help but hope that he was right in assuming that Cas had been jealous before. It wasn't anyone who could pull emotion out of Cas, and if Dean had been the source of something that strong...Well, it would change his perspective on where he stood.

 

“Oh, more than enough times. I'm actually surprised that she hadn't gotten fired or sued for sexual harassment. Then again, her father owns the coffee shop, which probably has something to do with it.” Castiel said smoothly, taking a sip of his tea. His entire body went limp with the flavour of his favourite drink, and Dean made a mental note that he really freaking likes tea. His eyes flickered back up from the cup to Dean's, and Dean felt his stomach twist into knots. “Of course, that's not the most invasive thing I've found her doing.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Dean questioned. He was confused; what could be more invasive than literally feeling somebody up without their permission.

 

“One time, my boss picked up the book she had been writing in, assuming it was just orders. He found that she had written incredibly explicit fanfiction between herself and one of the customers that comes in sometimes. She had made us swear not to tell him.” Castiel said, letting out a low chuckle. “I feel sorry for whoever 'Sam' is.”

 

Dean's mind briefly went to his brother, before he shook off the idea. Nah, the chances of that were a hundred to one. There was no way she knew his Sam. “That's creepy as heck. I feel sorry for that poor guy.”

 

“I'm just glad we didn't get to the “slash-fiction”. As soon as she grabbed the book from Crowley's hands, she demanded to know if we'd read any of that. I would hardly want to find out who she had written about-- actually, she's writing in her book right now. And leaning over, looking at you. I have the feeling you're the star of her next chapter.” Castiel said. Instead of looking angry, like he had when Becky had touched Dean, he looked amused. Dean wanted to spit out his coffee.

 

“Dude, don't even joke like that. I would die. Besides, maybe Sam was actually fictional?” Dean suggested, mainly for his own benefit. Castiel shook his head.

 

“No, she made it quite clear that he was very real. She threatened us within an inch of our lives if we ever told him she had written it up. We've seen him come in a couple of times since then, and he gets practically molested worse than us. In her defense, I can see how she would find him aesthetically pleasing.” Castiel announced. Dean nodded his head absentmindedly.

 

Great. Now, he was even more scared to ask Cas about the incident. His nerve had all dissolved when he had gotten interrupted by Becky, and he didn't know if he would be able to get it back in time to actually ask Cas if he wanted to talk about it. This made him slightly upset.

 

“More aesthetically pleasing than me?” Dean asked playfully. He shot Castiel his best 'model' look, trying to smolder him with his eyes. Castiel remained unfazed.

 

“Asexual, remember?” He reminds Dean, his lip tilting upwards in the smallest smile. Dean thought he could look at Cas smiling for years and never get sick of it. “But, speaking from a nonsexual perspective, I do find you more appealing to look at than most.”

 

“Aww Cas, you really know how to make a girl blush.” Dean said, but then turned a bit more serious. “So, in depth, how does the whole asexual thing work, if you can still find people attractive?”

 

“Well, I'm asexual, not blind.” Castiel reminded him, blinking as if to prove it, “So, though looking at your body isn't sexually arousing to me, I can still see the beauty in it. Your facial features are almost perfectly symetrical. In fact, I believe you're the most attractive human being I've ever set eyes on.”

 

Dean really did feel his cheeks grow hot then. He nodded his head, looking down at his coffee and taking a sip. “So, you can still refuse to date someone if you find them unattractive? What are your turn ons?”

 

“Well, I suppose I could pick a mate based upon how they look, but honestly I tend to focus mostly on personality more than anything else. My, “turn ons” are mostly given through touch. I have a couple of smells or ideas that fascinate me, though. For example, I believe that roleplaying would be something I would enjoy in the bedroom. I've never tried it before, but I'd assume.”

 

“You've never tried roleplaying?” Dean asked. He made a mental note to ask Cas later, when it wouldn't be all that awkward, what kind of smells he likes. Dean wanted to make sure that he got the best experience that he could get, if they were going to be sexually intimate.

 

Whoa, whoa. Dean reminded himself that he needed to slow down. Sure, Cas was giving off literally  _every sign in the book_ that he was interested, but Dean couldn't get ahead of himself. He didn't know for certain if Castiel was meaning to come across the way he did. One thing that Dean knew, was that Cas had a very unique personality. He could be entirely platonic about his comments, and Dean would never know. He couldn't quite treat Cas like he could everyone else; he needed to be more careful.

 

“No, that I haven't. I haven't had very many sexual escapades, and the few I have had were very short. Actually, I've only slept with three people; two were women.” Castiel informed him. Dean nods.

 

“I can't say the same here, buddy. I've had a lot of one night stands in my years, and some of those women were friskier than you could even imagine. I think I've probably tried everything except being with a man.” Dean mumbles, glancing up at Castiel. Cas doesn't look put off in the least bit by this information, and Dean lets out a long sigh of relief. Some people ran for the hills when they found out how active he'd been.

 

Castiel pauses for a moment, and Dean realizes that he hasn't even touched his pie yet. He picks up a fork and cuts himself a nice sized bite, putting it into his mouth. He made some very enthusiastic noises at the flavour, which had Castiel raising his eyebrow in question. In response, Dean picked up his fork and cut another bite, waiting until he swallowed to speak. “Dude, you have to try this pie. It's literally pie from the heavens.”

 

He holds out the bite to Castiel, and Cas takes a small sniff. He glances up towards Dean, before he slowly wraps his lips around the small bite, pulling it off of the fork in the same manner. Dean unconsciously licks his lips, his thoughts going straight to the gutter as Castiel nods his head thoughtfully, savouring the flavor. Dean drops his eyes to his crotch as he sets his fork down, willing himself not to let Castiel give him a boner for the second time that day. Fate must have been on his side, because Cas spoke then, and he was distracted from his fantasies.

 

“That is very good, yes. You still don't have to side like you're having an orgasm while you're chewing.” Cas scolds. Dean's eyebrows raise.

 

“Oh really? Why, does the sound get you all hot and bothered, Cas?” Dean teased, winking at him. He puts another bite in his own mouth, but this time, refrains from sounding so much like he's going to cum in his pants. Castiel looks vaguely pleased with the improvement to Dean's table manners.

 

“So, if you were to go anywhere in the city, where would you say has the best pie?” Cas asks, changing the subject. Dean thinks for a minute.

 

“Honestly, I have no clue. I know there's this bakery four or five blocks from here that's pretty good, but I wouldn't say it's the best. The best piece of pie I've ever gotten was from a little rundown place in Oregon. Really, the crust was the flakiest stuff I've ever put in my mouth. I really have to take you there sometime.” Dean says, cutting another bit and offering it to Castiel. Castiel looks slightly confused. Dean's a little confused, too. He hadn't planned on sharing, but it just suddenly felt like the right thing to do. That's big, since he'd never voluntarily shared pie with anyone else before.

 

“Thank you.” Castiel said, before leaning forward and taking the bite. He chewed thoughtfully. “You're a mechanic, what kind of car do you drive?”

 

“Oh, I'll have to show you my Baby. It's a '67 Chevy impala, the most beautiful piece of machinery that's ever graced the face of the earth. You'd have to see it to get the full experience.” Dean realizes then that he's talking a little too much about himself, and wants to hear a little more about Cas. “Is that kind of tea your favourite, or do you have another kind you typically go for?”

 

“Oh no, I don't think I could pick a favourite. My cupboard at home is filled with different kinds of tea and honey. Not the kind in the bear-shaped bottles, either. That's been processed a hundred different ways and your body doesn't know what to do with it. I actually drive out to bee farms and get it fresh from the farmers. There's an old woman who lives ten miles out of town that has delicious honey. Unfortunately, she's told me she's going to retire from beekeeping in a few years.” Castiel said, frowning a bit.

 

“That sucks. Aren't you going to open a farm in a couple of years or something, though? You could just make your own honey.” Dean insists. Castiel looks a little bit put off.

 

“Unfortunately, no, probably not. Opening a bee farm is one of my life goals, but I doubt I'll have the money for it any time soon. And I wouldn't be the one producing the honey, the bees would be doing all of the work.” Castiel insists, sitting up a little taller, in defense of the bee's hard work. Dean felt even more fond of him in that moment than he had before. It all seemed a little serene, sitting in a coffee shop, talking with the man he had been friends with for two weeks, whom he felt as if he had known forever. Things felt so right and so comfortable, Dean could almost imagine himself in that moment, leaning forward to kiss Cas. Of course, he didn't actually do that. No, he stayed firmly on his side of the table.

 

Soon, both of them were finished, but they stayed half an hour after they were done, just talking. Dean was the one who had to bring up that they had to get going; he needed to go grocery shopping, and didn't want to have to walk home in the dark. The city could be dangerous at night, sometimes.

 

So, they got up, paid for their orders, and walked back to the apartments. Dean, again, had a hard time not reaching out and grasping Castiel's hand. It would feel like the most natural thing in the world to do, but Dean didn't want to make Castiel feel uncomfortable. He didn't want to face the rejection if Cas pulled away, either.

 

They said goodbye at their apartments, outside of the door of the main lobby. Dean still had some walking to do, to get to the grocery. He frowned as Cas walked inside; he'd had a perfect oportunity to kiss him goodnight. Again, though, Dean couldn't force himself to. Besides, Cas was attracted to people mainly based on personality; there was really no way he could like Dean back. Dean knew that he shouldn't get his hopes up.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Later that night, when he was done putting up his groceries, his phone rang. A text, from Castiel.

 

_I had a fun time with you today, Dean. I would like to partake in similar activities in the future._ He'd said. Dean felt a little bit better about himself.

 

_I had a great time too, Cas. I'd definitely like that._ Dean sent. Suddenly, he felt a little angry at himself. He needed to pull it together! If he wanted to tell Cas that it was okay to talk about the incident, than he'd damned well better do it. After all, Cas had said he'd be busy for the rest of the week, so this might be Dean's only chance to talk to him about it.  _By the way, do you remember that night we sort of had phone sex? Because, I'm not feeling so awkward about it any more._

 

His stomach twisted into knots the moment he sent it. For the entire two minutes it took Castiel to respond, he was considering all of the different ways he could bury himself deep underground and never come back up.

 

_Glad to see we're on the same page, then. I quite enjoyed that._

 

Dean let out a sigh of relief.  _Okay, good. I have to go to bed soon, but one more question. What kind of smells turn you on?_

 

_Honestly, your natural smell today was quite intriguing. If that makes you uncomfortable, I would recommend wearing some cologne around me. It was... Quite potent, in the elevator._

 

Dean made a mental note to never, _ever_ , do anything different with his scent.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Christmas Party!


	11. The Christmas Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My etsy is still not up -_-
> 
> The Christmas sweater I describe Cas as wearing is actually a sweater I own. I wore it on the last day of school because I thought it would be cool. My mom found it in a goodwill and literally bought it because it was so ugly. Tell you guys what; if you give me at least four comments on this chapter, I'll take a selfie with the sweater and post it to my tumblr so all of you can see it. (Including a link in the introduction of the next chapter).
> 
> So, thanks for the comments and support so far! You guys have been great! I REACHED MY KUDOS GOAL! yay!

It was all set up for the party.

 

Dean had spent hours putting up the Christmas tree, hanging stockings and wreaths and mistletoe, and had all of the ingredients lined up on the counter to make sugar and ginger bread cookies. There was plenty of booze, cold cut meat and bread (hey, he's not made out of money) with those awesome fancy cheese cubes, and he has popped corn overflowing from a bowl that could fit at least two severed limbs. I mean, if Dean was going to put severed limbs in there.

 

The radio was blaring crappy Christmas music, and he had “Frosty the Snowman” in the DVD player, ready to be seen. Everyone had confirmed that they were going to be there, and soon his small apartment was going to be more crowded than ever. He found himself excited, rather than stressed.

 

Him and Cas hadn't really talked about what happened yet. It had been a busy week for both of them, and they had both wanted to spend their time together off of risky subjects. Dean was eager to finally get to the point where they could talk about it, though, and awaited Monday night's long anticipated chat. He'd decided that, since things would be back to normal by then, it would be a good time to talk.

 

A loud knock at the door jerked him out of his thoughts. He quickly put the popcorn and string down next to the barren tree, running to open the door for those who were awaiting his arrival. As soon as it swung open, he was met by the smiling face of his big brother and his blushing, soon-to-be-bride.

 

“WE, wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas!” Both of them sang, loudly and off-tune. Dean laughed, stepping aside and ushering them in through the door. They both seemed more than satisfied with the decorations, and Sam is nodding his head as if impressed. Dean knows Sam expected him to bull crap the entire thing, but something had him feeling a little more in the festive spirit this year. It may or may not have had everything to do with the fact that Cas would be there later.

 

“Where's everyone else? Dean, you didn't just invite us, did you?” Sam questions. Dean shakes his head.

 

“They should get here soon. Don't worry, I'm not the recluse you like to pretend I am.” Dean teases. He hops onto his couch and uses the temporary height advantage to wrap an arm around his brother's neck, putting him in a temporary head lock. Sam squirmed and wiggled, shoving at Dean's hand as Dean tried to hold on for Dear life. Eventually, he broke free and gave Dean a playful glare, before his lip finally quirked up in a fond smile.

 

“Okay then. I'm sure they'll all love to hear the story from when we were kids and you decided it would be a good idea to plant oatmeal.” Sam threatened.

 

“You wouldn't.” Dean deadpans. That story's not all that embarrassing, but he thinks that with Cas and the Guild there, he would be mortified to have it spoken of. “I swear to Christ I will tell everyone about the time you swallowed a lego on purpose.”

 

“Alright boys, break it up.” Jess chides, stepping in between them. “Christmas is not the time for testosterone.”

 

“Dang it, looks like I have to take all those supplements I bought back to the store.” Dean said, snapping his fingers. Sam and Jess both rolled their eyes at the same time, and Dean has the thought, _Their child is really going to be the sassiest thing to ever walk the face of the earth. I'm in trouble._

 

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door again. Hope rises within Dean that it may be Cas; he said he'd be a little late, though, and Dean's more rational than that. Instead of being disappointed, he smiles as he opens the door to see Charlie. She even brought a box of six month old candy canes that, by some miracle of god, are actually in okay condition.

 

From there, the guests show up one after another. Soon, Dean's house is hustling and bustling with the Christmas spirit, everyone laughing and drinking merrily and having a good time. He thinks that his Guild actually fits in with his regular family a little too well; Charlie is explaining some of the complicated stuff in LARPing to Sam, and Jo is bonding with Jess. Garth and Ash are having a conversation about lord only knows what, and Benny and him are silently standing beside each other, drinking some beer and watching everyone.

 

The door makes one final sound, and Dean practically lunges at it. When he opens it, he thinks he just might die of happiness.

 

Castiel is on the other side, wearing an absolutely huge, red, obnoxiously patterned sweater. It has a large green cat on the front, sticking it's butt out behind him, as if stretching. The cat is hot glued to the shirt, a line of the substance traced along the contours of the feline, punctured and broken in places. On the cat is a ridiculous pattern of repeated green holly or mistletoe or _something,_ and it just ends up looking like marijuana. He immediately doubles over in a fit of laughter, and Castiel's face remains absolutely stoney the entire time, only serving to amuse him more.

 

“Well, Cas,” He finally chokes out, standing up a little, “If we were having an ugly sweater contest, you would have won for sure.” He says, swinging his hand out to casually pull Cas in for a hug. It's warm and nice and Cas smells like soap bars and tea, and Dean thinks that it might be the best hug he's had in awhile.

 

“I figured you might like it. It's one of my favourites.” He deadpans, and Dean is laughing again, this time into Cas's shoulder. When he finally pulls away, he realizes that at least half of the people in the room are staring at them, and Sam has that look in his eyes like he knows something isn't quite what it seems. Dean pushes Cas firmly out of his grip at that point, stepping aside so his angel can walk around. The door shuts behind him, and there's a silence as everyone in the room takes in everything that is Castiel.

 

“Hello. I'm Dean's friend Cas.” He introduces himself. Dean sees significant glances shared between his guild members, and he's glad for the obnoxious Christmas music playing in the background, to make the silence less awkward.

 

“Alright everyone.” He finally breaks it, stepping up to the center of the room. Heads turn to him, Sam's head jingling, since Jess made him put on a dorky Santa hat with a giant bell attached to the end. “You can decorate the tree or make cookies or keep talking or whatever. I'm gonna go and make egg nog and rum shots.” Dean says, rubbing his hands together.

 

“I brought fruit cake.” Castiel reminds him, gesturing towards where he had set the platter.

 

“Hey, everyone, Cas brought a brick to eat.” Dean declares. The playful glare he recieves makes him feel a little bit warm and fuzzy on the inside. “A brick that I'm sure will taste better than most.”

 

“You'd better be sure. You're the one who has to try it due to your reflexive gambling habits.” Cas scolds, crossing his arms over his chest. Dean wonders briefly how he didn't notice Cas having the fruit cake when he came in, but decides to ignore it for more important issues. Like, the fact that his brother was staring at him.

 

“What did you two bet on?” He asks, innocently enough. Dean can tell that there's a punch after this, of course. “I mean, I'm assuming personally that it was who would kiss who first, but,”

 

Sam is interrupted by Dean's elbow digging into his rib cage. Dean's glaring at Sam like he's never glared at anyone before; he loves his brother, but he doesn't want to spend all night being teased at for being too close to Cas. Especially when he wasn't a hundred percent sure that the other man liked him back in the same way.

 

“Dean and I had an arm wrestling match. I won.” Cas said simply, before walking into the kitchen, carrying the fruit cake. Sam's eyebrows raise upwards, and Dean just shrugs, following Cas before any other questions can be asked. It doesn't take long until they're standing alone in the kitchen.

 

“I'm glad you could make it.” Dean says, taking cherries out of the fridge. He drops each one into a different shot glass, (fifteen in all-- Dean used to collect them, and still has one from every state) before turning back to lean casually against the counter. Cas gets his fruit cake all set up and cuts a small piece, offering it to Dean.

 

Dean takes it, slowly. He eyes the piece expectantly. Then again, if Cas really wanted him dead, he probably could've pulled it off by now. Dean tended to be gullible, and wouldn't think twice to down a pie sent to him, no matter if he knew the origins or not. As soon as the thought was out, though, he dismissed it. Cas wouldn't actually poison him. Even if poison was probably one of the ingredients in those god-awful things.

 

Dean slowly takes a bite, chewing it softly a couple of times. He thinks that it's probably close to the most satisfactory piece of cake he's ever had, even if he doesn't like cake. It's moist and soft and just the slightest bit tangy with the fruit, and the flavours all mix together well for something home-baked. Dean looks up at Cas and he knows he's never going to hear the last of this, because the sound he just made was close to orgasmic, and Cas looks like one smug motherfucker if Dean ever did see one.

 

“I'm glad I came, too. To remove your prejudice over holiday-themed food items pertaining to cake and fruit.” He says, leaning back against the counter. Dean rolls his eyes, clearing his throat and setting the plate down. He turns around like the sulking teenager he is in his soul and pours egg nog in all the shot glasses, leaving them half empty for the liquor. He tops them off with rum and loads them on a tray, leading Cas and him back out to civilization. When he gets there, he laughs out loud.

 

Sam is sprawled across the floor, intensely concentrating on making the popped corn string, his hair dangling in his face. Instead of the Santa hat, somebody had removed it and replaced it with a pair of moose antlers. He was too in the zone to even ask what Dean thought was funny; he really did look like a moose caught in the wild.

 

The shots are passed around, and Garth heads to the kitchen with Jo to go and make the ginger bread cookies. Dean is absolutely, 1,000% sure that Jo's only in there with him to eat half of the cookie dough while it's still raw, but he couldn't complain because he'd do the same fucking thing if he got the chance. He notices out of the corner of his eye that Cas looks a little awkward.

 

“Come on, have a shot.” Dean insists, pushing one towards him. Cas shakes his head with a small smile.

 

“I often find drinking distasteful in the company of those I have yet to talk with.” He says. Dean figures he can respect that, and gives a half hearted shrug. Besides, he has just the thing for that, anyways. Not that he actually thought of Castiel enough when he went grocery shopping to actually throw something in that he would like. No, he totally would have gotten the tea on his own. Dean likes tea. Really.

 

Okay, yeah, no, he got it because he's a fucking idiot who is really, _really_ head over heels for his gaming partner.

 

He walks into the living room and fills one of his cups to the brim with scalding hot water, reaching into his cupboard to bring out the large package of different flavours of tea that he threw into his cart. After spending five stright minutes trying to decide what Cas would be in the mood for, he decides to just call the guy over himself. “Hey Cas, get in here!”

 

Cas strolls in, almost bumping into Jo, who's carrying a large bowl full of cookie dough batter across the small kitchen. After excusing himself from the small disaster, he walks the rest of the way over and peers into the cup Dean's holding. Dean, in retaliation, pushes the warm liquid into Castiel's hands, gesturing towards the open box of teas. “I didn't know which flavour you would want, so I figured I should let you get it yourself. I, uh, also have some honey here,” He reaches for the bottle, which has 'all natural' written across the top and is (disappointingly) not in the shape of a bear, “If you want to use it.”

 

“Dean, did you get this specifically for me?” Castiel asks. Dean freezes up entirely, and he's not sure at this point if he looks nervous or just plain sick. Once Cas realizes he has his answer, a small smile pulls at the corner of his lips. “That's very thoughtful of you.”

 

Dean feels all of the tension he'd been holding disappear. He smiles, patting Cas fondly on the shoulder. “yeah yeah yeah, just trying to level up my character. The tea brings stamina points, so...”

 

Cas chuckles, and Dean's about to make a joke when he hears Sam yell from the other room. “Dean, get in here!”

 

“I'll be back eventually.” He tells Cas, walking out to the room. Sam is standing next to the tree, which is now strung up with fresh;y strung popped corn. Benny, Ash, and Charlie were helping him thread it; there was no way he could have done it all by himself. “Whoa. Cool.”

 

“Yeah, except we need real ornaments now. Where are they?” Sam asks. Dean feels a little bit irritated.

 

“Dude, patience, young Jedi. I'll be back in a flash.” Dean insists, turning towards the hall. He turns a corner, and continues to move until he's past the bedroom, bathroom, and almost to the storage closet. He pauses outside of it, eying the wooden door with more caution than he would give a rabid dog. Lord only knows how much stuff he had thrown into there over the years, and even if he had just gotten into it earlier today to retrieve the tree, that didn't mean that it was any less dangerous than usual.

 

After fifteen minutes of digging through the closet, he finally found the small shoe box filled with their childhood ornaments, and the larger box of crappy wall-mart stuff he bought last year to make the tree seem more full. He puts the smaller one inside of the bigger one and forces the door shut, wandering back out to the party. What he was not expecting, of course, was Castiel to be standing right outside of the door way.

 

He bumped right into the guy, almost dropping his ornaments in the process. As the box started to fall to the ground, Cas reached out and grabbed it. It stayed suspended between their bodies for a couple of minutes before Dean grabbed it and set it on the back of the couch, moving a little, but staying relatively close to Cas. “That was a nice catch. Why were you there, though?” Dean questions, raising his eyebrows.

 

“Your brother told me to stand here, and proceeded to take my tea out of my hands and insist that it would be fun. I don't understand how you almost breaking your possessions is meant to be fun, but I suppose he may have a bit of a warped perception of it.” Castiel admits. Suddenly, Dean realizes that everyone in the room has stopped to stare at them. Even Jo and Garth were leaning around the kitchen door frame, fighting to get a better view. Dean feels his feet stomach down to his feet as he tries to make eye contact with Sam, but Sam is looking pointedly upwards. It dawns on him then that this seems to be _exactly where he put the mistletoe._

 

“It would seem my brother is trying to pull something, Cas.” Dean said, looking up. Castiel's eyes follow his own, but there's still confusion written plainly all over his face. Dean is caught in between thinking that it's cute, and being annoyed he has to explain this. He decides the annoyance is for Sam.

 

“You two have to do it, it's Christmas tradition! Whenever two people are under a mistletoe, they have to kiss. Either pucker up, or admit that you're a tasteless person with no endurance stats.” Sam teases. Yeah, he's been talking to Charlie too much.

 

“It is? We do?” Cas questions, turning his eyes back to Dean. Dean shakes his head.

 

“I'm not gonna make the guy uncomfortable. I mean, I wouldn't mind, but I don't think he would really want-” Dean is silenced by a hand, sliding behind his neck. He turns his head back towards Cas, eyes immediately darting towards the other's lips. He feels his tongue dart out to lick his own in anticipation.

 

Cas is fast; Dean barely sees it coming before Cas's lips are pressed hot against his, the slightly wet sensation causing a low groan to form in Dean's throat. He barely holds back the noise, and instead it comes out as a questioning sound. His hands fall naturally to Castiel's hips as his body pushes both of them back, and there's a dull thud as Cas's back its the door frame. Dean is vaguely aware that there are people watching, but he can't find it in him to care.

 

Cas tastes like honey and tea, like sweet and healthy and just a little bit of something Dean can't quite put his finger on; it's manly, though, and reminds Dean of exactly who he's kissing. Cas's lips are pliant against his and his body pushes against Dean's, the hard lines and muscles different than anything Dean's witnessed before. He's already begun the process of biting and licking his way into Cas's mouth when he hears a low whistle behind him, reminding him that they're _literally in front of everyone he cares about,_ and he should probably pull away now.

 

It still takes all of his effort to do so, and when he does, he's left panting and soft-eyed, body still pressed against Cas's. Their eyes meet, and Dean can tell that this was never going to be a one time thing. They were too perfect; too made for this. Dean didn't think he'd ever gotten this excited over a kiss before.

 

“Well there Dean, I didn't know you rolled that way. I'm gonna guess your Angel's not gonna be too pleased.” Benny teases him, hitting him over the back of the head. This breaks Dean and Cas's eye contact, and Dean slowly peels his body off of the other man's. He turns to glare at Benny.

 

“Actually, Cas _is_ Angel. We met online, and we called each other angel and hunter at first because that's what our screen names came up as. That's why he's Angel in my phone.” Dean explains. Mostly because everyone was giving him confused looks about Benny's comment, and that seemed like the easiest way to explain it. Almost everyone could draw their own inferences from that.

 

“Well then, love birds, bring over the ornaments!” Sam enthuses, holding out his hands. Dean grabs the large box and brings it over, being sure to drop it right on Sam's legs. His brother lets out a slightly pained yelp, and Dean feels satisfied.

 

“Jerk.” Sam chides, but without really meaning it. He's leafing through the box already, picking out what he wants and slinging it onto the bottom layers of the Christmas tree.

 

The rest of the night passes in a blurr of happiness and joy. Dean and Cas are almost never farther away then ten feet from each other, the cookies turn out great, and they end up watching Star Wars instead of a Christmas movie, because everyone agrees that it's deplorable Cas hasn't seen it.

 

When the credits finally roll, everyone is tired, and they all shuffle tiredly out the door. Cas stays, practically asleep on the couch, huddled up with his third cup of tea pressed firmly between his hands. When he stands to leave, Dean stands with him, running a hand through his already tousled hair.

 

They have a lot to talk about, but that can be handled tomorrow. Cas is tired and Dean is ready to head off to bed himself. He can't help but lean forward and leave a sloppy kiss on Cas's forehead before he heads out the door. Cas lets out a pleased hum, turning to absolute fucking putty in Dean's hands. He's warm and tired and Dean almost doesn't want to let him go, wrapped in a hug he's sure he'll remember for the rest of forever, but he also knows it's best for Cas to go home for the night. After all, whatever the hell they have going here, Dean doesn't want to dive straight into it. No, because that's the way you ruin things.

 

“Goodnight, Cas,” He says affectionately.

 

“Goodnight, Dean.” Cas concludes, turning and walking back down to his end of the hallway.

 

Dean thinks he's never been more grateful for his little brother's scheming in all of his life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is NOT the end of the story, just so you know! There will be more.


	12. The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little while to get out because I didn't have much motivation. The lack of comments on the last chapter were a little discouraging. Oh well.
> 
> This chapter contains some kinky stuff. If you don't want to read that, I would advise you to skip it.

The next day, Dean immediately lunges for his cell phone. He's glad that he figured on having a hangover and took off today, because he wants to talk to Cas about what happened.

 

_Hey Cas, uh, about what happened yesterday... With the whole 'mistletoe' thing, I'm okay if you want to talk about it. I actually sort of liked it, a little more than I probably should have._ Dean sent, before he could lose his nerve. He checked and saw that he had a text from his brother, too. He decided to ignore it for the time being; he knew what it probably said, anyways.

 

_I enjoyed the experience, too. I found it very pleasurable. Is this your way of telling me you'd like to repeat it?_ Cas texted back. Dean stared at the screen of his phone, unsure of how to respond. Would telling him yes be too forward? What kind of response was Cas expecting at this point? 

 

_Yeah, I would like to repeat the experience. I think I might not be as straight as originally presumed._ Dean finally settles on that. Because, in reality, he doesn't have to worry about Cas never talking to him again. Cas wouldn't do something like that, even if the feelings aren't returned. Cas would very technically explain that he didn't want Dean back, and Dean would be fine with that, as long as they could stay friends.

 

_I had guessed as much. Does this mean you'd like to meet later? How do people usually go about these things?_ Cas texted back. Dean breathed out a sigh of relief. It might not have been a 'take me, I'm yours', but with Cas, this was a huge step. Dean knew exactly what he wanted to do, too. He wanted to take this slow, ease into things. He wanted to make Cas happy and do grossly romantic couple shit with him for a little while. From what he had gathered, Cas hadn't done much of that. Dean wanted him to have the experience. 

 

_I would love to meet. How about we go to the movies? As a date. I'll pick you up in a couple hours?_

 

_I would enjoy that. I've never really gone on a date with a man, so this will be a new experience. I'll see you then._ Cas responded. Dean immediately jumped up and pumped his fist into the air. Really, he shouldn't be all that surprised; the feeling had clearly been mutual. But, with Cas, you never really knew. Dean supposed that probably had something to do with the reason he liked Cas in the first place; he was unpredictable. Dean loved it when he had to guess at what a person was thinking, he loved trying to figure someone out. Cas was perfect for someone like him. 

 

Dean realized then that he only had two hours to get ready. He immediately jumped up and ran to the shower, shedding his clothes and jumping into the warm spray. He quickly washed, rinsed, scrubbed, and shaved, knowing that stubble might get in the way if they were going to be doing any kissing, since he didn't know how Cas felt about it. He brushed his teeth and gargled mouth wash, taking a second to check his phone again. He saw the blinking message sign from his brother, and decided that now was a good time to open it. 

 

_So I'm gonna guess I'm going to have to forcibly rip you from the closet soon. Unless you have something you'd like to tell me about you and Cas._

 

Dean cringed. Well, it was now or never, he supposed. _I maybe sorta have a crush on a dude. That doesn't mean anything, okay? Don't be an asshat about this._

 

_I'm not trying to be an asshat. I love and support you no matter what, okay? I never would have sent him to stand underneath that mistletoe if I felt like being an asshat. If it helps, I see the way you looked at each other, and I think you two have some serious potential. I've always thought you were probably not entirely heterosexual. That's okay. I, uh, actually did some experimenting with my room mate, in college. How far have you guys gone?_ Whoa. That was news to Dean. 

 

_That's a little personal, dude. And I never knew that. You experimented with the Lucifer guy? Wow, okay then._ Dean texted back. The guy had always given Dean the creeps, but hey, he wasn't all that surprised. Sam had always been the type to be curious about the world, about himself... Dean could see where he would want to be sure of his sexuality, too. 

 

_Come on, you can talk to me. Yes, the Lucifer guy. He went by Luci, you know._ Sam said. Dean shrugged.

 

_I'm not falling for the peer pressure, buddy. You saw our first kiss, if that gives you any hints. Yeah, I know about his stupid nickname. He acted like Lucifer though, so I'm keeping things how they should be._ Dean messaged back. He walked into the kitchen and made himself tea, rather than coffee. Because it had been a long time since he'd tried any of it, and it couldn't hurt to smell like something Cas liked. Of course, according to Cas, his 'natural' scent was pretty damn appealing, too. 

 

_Okay then. Tell me if anything develops. Hey man, I love you._ Sam responds. Dean rolls his eyes at the chick-flick moment, and tosses his phone onto the couch. The shower, tea, shaving, and texting had taken up an hour of his time, and he was still walking around the house entirely naked. Yeah, it was time to put some clothes on.

 

In the end, he decided that he would go in his regular clothes; A pair of jeans, his leather jacket, a flannel underneath and a white T-shirt. The movies could be cold most of the time, so he tried to layer up. He assumed that Cas would wear his own trench coat, but if he didn't, Dean was fully prepared to lend one of his own layers. Sure, it was cliché as hell, but cliché worked for a reason. He figured his jacket would probably be saturated in his “natural scent”, as Cas liked to put it, anyways. 

 

He lay around for about half an hour after he was done, dramatically over thinking everything that had happened over the last few weeks and knowing that Benny and Garth were going to tease him to no end about what had happened between him and Cas at the party. He'd like to be able to tell them that they were right, that he was bi, but he wasn't sure how he would fare coming out to somebody that wasn't close to him.

 

Besides, what if this all turned out to be just a phase? What if Cas ended up being the only dude he liked, and then they split up? Would he have a permanent label? These were things that he had to think about, before he decided what it was okay to tell people. 

 

Until, eventually, it was only ten minutes until he had said he would be there. Figuring that it would be a good time to show up, and not wanting to think about everything anymore, he sauntered on over to his friend's door, and gave a light knock. There was the sound of shuffling from inside, and then a loud bump. After that, a few moment's silence, before the lock was turned, and the door swung open.

 

Cas was in a white, button-down shirt and blue jeans. His eyes looked a little brighter right then. His trench coat was hanging lazily on the back of his computer chair, and his desk was meticulously organized. Dean's breath caught in his throat as his eyes scanned up and down his friend's body.

 

“Hello, Dean.” Castiel prompted, leaning against the door. His blue tie was tied wrong, and Dean suddenly got the urge to fix it. His hair was still slightly damp from what Dean presumed was probably a shower, and was just as crazy as it always was. 

 

“Heya, Cas.” Dean finally said, looking him up and down. Cas leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Dean in an awkward hug, and it took a second before Dean finally got the picture and slowly started to hug back. He held onto Cas for a minute, longer than he would usually hang on to somebody, but he got the overwhelming urge to just... hold Cas.

 

Cas nuzzled into his shoulder, and he felt the other breathe in deeply. A small smile came to Dean's face.

 

Finally they parted, and Dean patted Cas's shoulder. Cas had a small smile on his face, one that Dean had come, in the two meetings before this, to love. It suddenly occurs to him that, while this is the first 'official' date, they have been acting like a couple for much longer than that. Really, their first date was the coffee shop.

 

“You wanna go?” He asks. Cas nods his head.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

They sit down at the theatre, in the very back row. In the middle are a couple of teenagers, and in the front are a an elderly couple. Other than that, Dean thinks they're probably the only ones there. The theatre is cold, he was right, but Cas and he are both covered. A little bit disappointing, but Dean would never admit it.

 

The title sequence starts, and Dean feels Cas's hand firmly on his knee.

 

“What is it?” He questions, worried that Cas might need something. He'd offered to get popcorn, but Cas had declined, claiming he was full. If he wanted something now, Dean would be happy to go and get it. He'd already seen the latest Godzilla, and he'd mostly picked the movie because he wanted to see Castiel's reaction. So, missing some of it would bother him none.

 

Cas looks slightly confused. “Nothing. I just thought you may desire physical contact. Is it not welcome?” Cas questions. His hand twitches, as if he's getting the urge to move it away.

 

“No, of course not! I, uh, tend to enjoy physical contact. No big deal.” Dean says, smoothly. “i just thought you might have wanted something.”

 

The couple in the middle of the theatre turns around and glares at them, so Dean shuts his mouth. He's been in their situation before, so he knows that they're probably pissed off at him for talking through it. They have a right to be, really.

 

So, he remains silent for at least the next ten minutes. Well, as long as he can, really.

 

Because, every time something happens on the screen to make Cas jump, his hand goes just a little bit higher. Until it's halfway up Dean's thigh, and Dean is starting to get a little hard from the warmth and the pressure. He's already slid his jacket off, hoping the cool air will give him a distraction. He's tried thinking about everything and anything else, he's tried pinching his own arm, and he still can't get the feeling of arousal to go away. Eventually, he's at half mast and pushing hard against his zipper, and he _has_ to say something, because if Cas doesn't move his hand, he might end up having the worst case of blue balls in his life.

 

“Cas?” He questions quietly, his voice coming out a little gruffer than he intended. Cas turns to him, his eyebrows knitted together. He knows something's wrong, he just doesn't know what. “Are you... Aware, of how far your hand has drifted up my leg? I mean, I'm not complaining, it's just...”

 

Dean vaguely gestures around the movie theatre, but Cas doesn't see it. Instead, his eyes go straight to Dean's crotch, glued to his erection. Dean shifts uncomfortably, and Cas's eyes finally go back to his. His hand is still in the same spot, and it's hot like a branding iron and Dean doesn't know what to do. Finally, he says fuck it and just lets himself get hard.

 

“I can fix that.” Cas mumbles, glancing back down to Dean's bulge. If Dean had been drinking water, he most certainly would have choked on it. He glances around the mostly empty theatre, still a little self-concious. Does he mean later, or...?

 

“Like, now?” Dean asked, eyebrows raising. Cas's face remains entirely blank as he shakes his head yes, and Dean's dick gives a throb in his pants at the idea. Still, there are other people here, and... “In public?”

 

“Well, you aren't planning on being loud, are you?” Cas questions. His hand moves up, brushing against Dean's bulge, and Dean lets out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in. Cas's hand is hovering above the button on his jeans, his eyes begging permission. Cas wants this almost as much as he does.

 

“I, uh, guess not.” Dean says, shifting a bit in the seat. Cas's hand is now pressed firmly against the bulge. “If you really want to, you can.”

 

Castiel's hand pushes down the tiniest bit, and Dean lets his head fall back. His eyes are closed, and he's focused entirely on trying not to make a sound as Cas's hand moves to unbutton his jeans, and his erection slowly comes out. It's thick, and Cas reaches into his pants to slip it through the hole in his underwear, bringing it out into the light. Cas keeps a hand wrapped around the base, and he leans a little closer to get a good view of it.

 

Dean's right hand is gripping the seat at this point, fingernails digging into plastic as he tries not to make a noise. Cas lifts his hand from Dean, and he almost lets out a small noise of protest, before he realizes that Cas is simply getting himself ready. His tongue is slowly coating his hand in saliva, and Dean watches, fascinated, as Cas's tongue slowly works on himself. Dean's dick is throbbing more, begging for attention, until Cas finally deems himself ready.

 

Dean lets out a small gasp as the hand wraps around his cock again. Cas's breath is suddenly as his ear, his voice low, for nobody but Dean to hear. “You're so _thick._ One of the thickest I've seen, even in porn.”

 

The voice sounds thoughtful, and the technical talk makes Dean even harder. He's not sure how, but Cas is making him want it more than ever. He's not even thinking about how he's being beaten off by a _dude,_ only focusing on Cas's breath in his ear, his hand slowly, _agonizingly slowly,_ pumping up and down, up and down...

 

Dean lets out a heavy sigh, his arm gripping tighter at the chair. The entire room feels too hot then, and Cas's thumb lightly grazes the tip of his cock. He lets his hips give a small buck, two or three inches off the chair, and he notices in the dim room that Cas is smiling. Dean bites his lip hard as Cas increases his pace, up and down and squeezing a little harder before going a little faster, _oh god,_ this was the best handjob he'd ever gotten.

 

Cas leans in, nuzzling his neck. Dean natrually lets his head fall to the side, eyes glazed over. His hips are working on their own accord now, slowly and steadily giving shallow thrusts into the fist. Castiel gives a small lick to his neck before attaching his lips, nipping and sucking. Dean is so lost in the moment at this point he can barely control his breathing, and he has no clue how he's managing to stay quiet.

 

His hand naturally pats around in Cas's lap, until he finds the man's own bulge. Cas freezes as he does, hand going still. Dean realizes what he's done and immediately pulls his hand back like hot coals.

 

“I'm sorry, dude, I should have asked permission.” He says, immediately. Cas pulls away from his neck, eyes hooded and lust-filled.

 

“It's fine, go ahead. I don't think I've ever been this turned on in my life; it just came as a bit of a surprise.” He admits. Dean nods his head, a small thrill of excitement going through him. He raises his own hand to his mouth and spits on it, using his tongue to smear around the makeshift lubricant. Cas hums against his neck in approval once his cock is out, and Dean wastes no time in wrapping his hand around it and starting a fast pace, almost immediately.

 

Cas's lips attach to his own, and a warm tongue pushes against his. He parts them, his own tongue meeting the other. Cas does this weird thing where he traces the roof of Dean's mouth, and he gives a hard shudder. Cas does it again, this time pressing down on his sensitive cockhead at the same time.

 

Dean can't help the small, “Ah!” He let into Cas's mouth, and he _felt_ Castiel's dick give a soft throb at the noise. He squeezes just a little harder, using some of the small wrist twists that Cas was currently indulging him in, and Cas responds by slowly beginning to move his hips with Dean's hand.

 

Cas and Dean break apart, both shallowly gasping for breath. Cas pushes his forehead up against Dean's, and their eye contact is the most intense it's ever been as they sync rhythms, going starting to go at the same pace. Dean's body feels hot all over and there's a burning in his lower abdomen, something he's more than familiar with. By the looks of things, Cas isn't doing much better. He's panting and hot and rocking his hips back and forth into Dean's hand, and Dean is doing the same. It's like some crazy syncronized dance, and Dean feels more alive than he had in awhile. It's like every nerve, ever cell in his body, every thought was centred around this moment.

 

Then, Cas let out a small gasp. Suddenly, both of them were cumming together, silent and beautiful and hot, and Cas's tongue was in his mouth again wild with passion and affection and emotion. Dean thought that he'd never feel anything that hot again in his life, as he pulled his wet hand off of Castiel's now softening cock.

 

His hand is covered in cum, and he lifts it up, looking for something to wipe it on. Suddenly, a hankerchief is shoved into his hand by Cas, and it's already slightly damp. Dean can assume that Cas is already cleaned up.

 

Cas takes the hankerchief back and shoves it into his coat pocket. Once they're certain all the cum has dried, Cas slips a hand into Dean's, putting the cup holder in between their seats down so that they wouldn't be suspended in midair. His eyes flicker back to the big screen, and Dean watches him react to the rest of the movie, still high from endorphins and the smell of cum still lingering in the air.

 

Hey, they might have missed twenty minutes, but the rest of the movie was pretty darn good.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

They were standing outside of Cas's apartment, and Dean was happy as hell. He was leaning up against the door frame, kissing Cas slowly and sensually, one hand around his waist. Hell yeah, he was bi. If he wasn't, there was no way he would have enjoyed tonight as much as he did. Not just the handjobs, but Cas himself. They had talked a little more, Cas had made a really terrible joke, and they had held hands the entire way back. Dean thought that it had been the best date he'd ever been on, even if it had been a little cliché.

 

They slowly pulled away, neither of them really wanting to.

 

“I'll see you again soon, Hunter?” Cas purred. Dean nodded his head mutely for a moment, trying to think of a suave answer.

 

“Anytime, Angel.” He said, giving Cas a small kiss on the forehead. Cas nods, and Dean and him step away. The door is shut before they have the chance to say anything else.

 

Dean can't wait for their next date.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment?


	13. The Forest and the Honey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a little longer than usual because it is a little longer than usual. This is 1,000 words longer than the first chapter of this fanfiction. I decided to make this chapter entirely appropriate, so sorry if you're here for just the smut. ^_^ Fluffy as hell.   
> Also, have a nice day everyone.   
> Thank you for the amount of response the last chapter got, it's what inspired me to make this chapter a little longer. Next chapter, things will probably heat up again.

A few days have passed since then-- Dean is happy with just texting Cas and playing online with him, but he wonders why they haven't set anything else up yet. The last date went absolutely great, so why hadn't they scheduled anything else? Or, for that matter, talked about what had happened?

 

Not that he was sad about that. He was glad that his and Cas's relationship hadn't turned entirely sappy and romantic. But the pressure was still there, and he wanted to be sure that Cas was still interested in him, romantically. He didn't feel confident enough in his own personality-- how could he keep Cas entertained? He wasn't exactly the most interesting guy to talk to, maybe Cas needed something different?

 

Dean was laying on his couch, lounging around, when his phone buzzed against his leg. He lazily reached into his pocket to retrieve it, knowing who it would be. A smile formed across his face as he read the familiar name. _I want to meet again soon. It's Thursday now, so, would Saturday work for you?_

 

Dean breathed out a sigh of relief. Immediately after that had passed, he was curious. What did Cas have in mind? He clearly had a plan for this, and Dean would be more than willing to try out anything he wanted to... God, Winchester, pull your mind out of the gutter! Cas most likely had something innocent and fluffy planned, it wasn't like he was going to propose they jump into the BDSM circuit and show up with a collar in Dean's size.

 

Though Dean honestly couldn't say that the thought wasn't appealing.

 

Not that Dean was a sub. Because he was totally a dom. Probably.

 

_Of course Saturday would work. Charlie has a thing on Friday night though, so I'd like it if it could be after noon. I have to go and act as her hand maiden or some crap. Actually, you were in costume that one night, are you going to come?_ Dean questions. It would be nice to be able to see Cas there.

 

_Unfortunately not. But I take it I'll see you at two on Saturday? Would you like to take my car or yours?_ Dean frowns. He doesn't know anything about where they're going, and he's disappointed that Cas can't make it to the renaissance thing. He wished that he didn't have to go and pretend to be a handmaiden. It was slightly demeaning. Then again, bringing his boyfriend couldn't help much either, could it?

 

Dean froze. Had he just... Used the 'b' word? Boyfriend? Was that what him and Cas were?  _Boyfriends?_ He supposed they'd have to talk about it. He really wanted to be more than friends, truthfully. Cas had been in his life for a month now, turned literally everything upside down, and Dean couldn't see himself ever getting sick of him. Cas was a best friend, a lover now... He was the first and only man Dean had thusfar felt okay admitting his attraction to. That felt important to Dean; Cas felt important. So, he decided that they would talk about it in person, this upcoming Saturday.

 

_I don't know where we're going, so yours. Where are we going, anyways?_ Dean asked. He walked over to his computer and turned it on, seeing that it was almost six o'clock. Cas would be wanting to play Angel/Demon allies soon, and he wasn't going to be one to argue with him. They were really close to catching up to the place where the developers were, which would mean that they would receive their compensation. So far, they had reported three bugs to the developers.

 

_That's a secret. You'll have to wait until we get there. Just make sure you're wearing tennis shoes or something comfortable to walk in._ Cas comments. Dean almost bugs him about it, but he knows that it really wouldn't get him anywhere. So, instead, he shrugs and sets down his phone, powering up his computer. Just as the screen flickers to life, a second text comes through.  _Do you want to get online now? I miss your voice._

 

He only allows himself to feel warm about that for a minute, before he's grabbing his headphones and logging on.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Saturday finally rolls around, Dean is ready by twelve. When Cas finally shows up, he's a ball of nerves and anticipation is thrumming through his veins like it's the very blood he depends on. 

 

He eagerly pulls the door open, finding Cas standing on the other side with a smile. His hair is messed up, as usual, and Dean feels a weight in his chest lighten. It was almost like Cas's very presence was relaxing him. He stepped aside and gestured for Cas to come in, but he had other plans. Cas grabbed him by the hand and pulled him straight out his own door, barely giving him time to shut and lock it. 

 

“Well, you're enthusiastic!” Dean declared, letting out a small laugh. Cas smiled as they entered the elevator, punching the button for the bottom floor. As the elevator started moving, Dean was reminded of when they first met each other, (or, at least, when he first _knew_ that they had met each other) and he couldn't resist leaning a little closer to inhale Cas's scent. He smelled like honey and nature and woods, and Dean thought it was the best thing he'd ever cared to scent.

 

Cas seemed to freeze up for a minute, his brows furrowing as he looked at Dean strangely. Soon, though, he relaxed into it, offering, “You're not typically so affectionate. I took you as a bit of a stand-off type. I'm slowly learning more and more how wrong I was.”

 

“I'm sorry, does that make you uncomfortable?” Dean asked, shifting a little bit. He didn't want to do anythign to screw this up, and if Cas wasn't a fan of contact, well, he'd tone it down. To his delight, though, Castiel shook his head no. 

 

“Of course not. It's just surprising. I've only been in a couple of other relationships before, and it was when I was younger. I'm just not used to touch.” Cas admits. Dean's mind immediately goes down the gutter, and it looks like it isn't coming back any time soon. If Cas was “sensitive to touch”, as he put it, he wonders how Cas would react to experimentation in the bedroom? Really, he'd already admitted he'd not done much, and as soon as Dean touched him in the movie theatre, his lips were all over Dean's neck. Dean knows for a fact that when they were kissing, he muffled some moans. Cas had been... extremely _reactive._ Dean couldn't wait to find out how far that went.

 

The elevator stopped, and they walked out into the lobby. Chuck was there, carrying his toolbox, grease smeared across his face. He stopped when he saw Dean and Cas, flashing them a large smile. “Are you two dating yet?” 

 

“Yes.” Castiel responded simply. Chuck flashed them a thumbs up and exited the room in a hurry, clearly on an errand. Dean paused, pulling Cas to a stop, too.

 

“We are?” He questioned. Cas looked slightly concerned for a moment, like a puppy who just _knew_ it was going to be kicked. Hard.

 

“Not if you don't want to be. I mean, I had figured-” He started, looking down at the ground. He was roughly cut off as Dean pulled him forward and sealed their lips in a bruising kiss, his hand sliding around to hold Cas's neck and his body curving in towards the other's. Cas let out a small grunt of surprise before he was kissing back, lips slightly more gentle against Dean's. When they finally pulled away, Dean was smiling.

 

“Of course I do, you fucking walnut.” He scolds. Castiel looks slightly confused, as if that was the last thing he had been expecting out of Dean's mouth. It's not until Dean thinks back to what he said that he realizes it was his poor choice of insult that had Castiel questioning, and not his acceptance to them dating. 

 

“That's... I've never heard that used that way before. Is that supposed to be an endearing form of insult, or-” Cas was cut off by another kiss, mainly because Dean didn't know what to do at this point, and he was so damn _happy_ about them being together. Cas was everything he could have asked for, and to have his feelings returned felt like winning the million off of a dollar scratch ticket. Absolutely improbable, but perfect. 

 

“Let's go to the car.” Dean says, as they part. Cas still looks like he's slightly flustered and confused from what just happened, but soon enough he gets his head back and leads Dean outside, walking towards the parking garage a couple of blocks down. Cas has a small smile on his face by the time they actually get there, and Dean is glad that he finally let it sink in, the fucking walnut. He still can't believe he actually said that out loud. He gave a moment to be grateful that Sam wasn't there to hear him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“This is it.” Cas said proudly. Dean froze, his eyes narrowing. This had to be some kind of a joke. “I hope you don't mind looking like you've pimped out twelve girls.”

 

Standing in front of him was a copy of their car in the game, to the exact T. Suddenly, he regrets not having volunteered to take the impala. His baby was awesome and more than feeling up to the trip. Riding around in this thing would be embarrassing when it was new.

 

“Oh my god, I take it back. Can we take my car?” He asks. Cas lets out a laugh, opening up the driver's seat and jumping in. He unlocks the passenger door, and Dean hesitates for a moment. Eventually, he jumps in, sitting straight and frozen in the front. Cas lets out a small chuckle, starting up the car. For once, Dean reaches for his seat belt, because he knows that a passenger not wearing one will give the driver a ticket. He tells himself over and over again that it's not because he isn't sure if this thing could survive a wreck. 

 

“The picnic supplies is in the trunk of this one already.” Castiel tells him. Dean then finally puts together that they're going to go out into _nature,_ and he nods his head appreciatively. He never really took Cas for the bear grylls survivor-man type, but now that he thinks about it, he realizes that Cas would probably love to live in the wild, as long as he could have wifi there. After all, he _did_ want to open a bee farm, eventually. 

 

“You should have told me we were going into nature.” Dean mumbles, shifting in his seat. Cas simply responds with a laugh as the car starts up.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dean watches out his window as they pass up house after house, building after building, the places slowly growing further and further apart. He watches as the businesses and hot dog stands of the city turn into corn fields and wide expanses of lush, sun-soaked grass. Dean could see Cas living out here when he's old and grey, probably tending to a flower garden (he almost scoffs at just how comical the idea of Cas checking his petunias would be) or his bees. The sun is warm, and Dean feels more alive than he has in a long time. 

 

He's so relaxed that he almost starts to nod off, and his head is leaning against the window as they reach their destination. 

 

The stopping of the car, luckily, is enough to jolt him awake. He rubs the back of his head, peering out the windshield. What? He thought Cas said they were going for a picnic?

 

“We're at our first stop.” Cas announces. Dean figures that picnic must be stop number two, but he can't help the curiosity rising up within him. Instead of being pulled up in a park or at a farm, they're at an ordinary house, with a large garden overflowing out in the back and a black cat lounging on the porch. Cas opens his door and steps out of the car, and Dean does the same, following when he starts down towards the small house.

 

Cas knocks on the door, and there's a flurry of motion as somebody comes to answer it. The door swings open to reveal an old woman, who's smiling and joyful. Dean sees that behind her, on a shelf, are rows and rows of bottles and bottles of natural honey, some of them packed up in boxes. She lights up when she sees Cas.

 

“Castiel! Oh, hello, dear!” She exclaims, pulling him in for a slightly awkward hug. Cas lets her, patting her hair. She pulls away and eyes Dean for a moment before apparently deciding that she approves of him, and pulling him into a hug, too. “And you brought a visitor! How nice.”

 

She pulls away, stepping inside and ushering them in. The cat that had previously been on the porch snuck in around their feet, and Dean would have said something, but the cat ran up to her and immediately started rubbing around her feet. Instead of looking angry or disappointed, she just laughed, petting the little thing behind the ears. The cat purred loudly, rubbing up against her. She set the animal down and turned back to the two boys.

 

“So, I suppose it's the usual? How have you been?” She questions. Castiel clears his throat.

 

“Yes, the usual. I've been well, thank you for asking. What about you? I heard a small grocery store is going to start selling your honey, that sounds like a good deal for you.” Cas congratulates, smiling. She briefly disappears into the kitchen, and then reappears, holing a small bottle of honey. She places it into Castiel's hand, smiling up at him.

 

“Yes, it really is a dream come true. Of course, I take it that won't mean you'll stop coming to get it from the source, right?” She asks. Castiel shakes his head no, giving a small chuckle. “Well, are you going to introduce this tall piece of work right here, or is he going to stand there awkwardly forever?”

 

Dean feels slightly uncomfortable, and he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Cas let out a laugh though, and it helps Dean to relax. If Cas liked this woman, she couldn't be that bad, could she? “This is my boyfriend, Dean. Remember the one I told you about, that I had been playing a game with and he just so happened to live in my apartment? I figured the second date was suitable for introductions such as these.” 

 

“Well, you two are on a date?” She questions, clapping her hands together. She looked happy for Cas. “then I won't stop you! Both of you, out this instant! Cas, you can talk to me later!” She finished, ushering them out the door. Cas smiled back at her, but did as she said. When they were out though, he paused, digging into his pocket. His hand reemerged with a crisp and clean ten dollar bill, which he proceeded to place in her hand. 

 

“For the honey. Keep the change.” He told her, waving the small jar in his hand. She smiled at the two of them.

 

“You really are too generous, Castiel.” She told him, pocketing the change. Cas turned then, grabbing Dean's hand again and urging him out to the car. Dean was still reeling the slightest bit from what had just happened, but he hopped into the car as normal, waiting until Cas had started it up again to say anything.

 

“So that's where you get your natural honey.” He comments. Cas just smiles.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

They pull up in a small park, children playing and laughing as they run around. Dean leans forward, eyes scanning over the picnic tables. Well, this was certainly romantic, that's for sure.

 

Castiel got out and Dean followed as he rounded the car back to the back, where he pulled out a large hand basket with a large blanket coming out the lid. About half of it was trailing through the air, wafting around as Cas moved. He started to walk towards the picnic tables, but halfway there, he changed routes. Dean followed, curiosity again rising, as Cas and him came to the edge of the woods. 

 

That, was when he noticed the small trail.

 

Cas stepped out onto it, looking more content than he ever had before. He was listening to the birds chirp, looking up at the different kinds of trees, admiring the small stream and the wooden bridge that they had to cross over to continue their path. He had a small smile on his face, as he simply walked along in the forest with ease, happy. Dean? Well, Dean was having just as good of a time watching Cas.

 

About halfway through the trail, Cas fell behind a little, taking Dean's hand. “You know, I haven't actually come here in about a year. I love this park, though. It's one of my favourite places to do hiking. My older brother Michael used to take me and all my brothers and sisters here for fun all the time. It didn't feel the same without anyone else, so I thought that maybe you'd like it. You do, don't you?”

 

“I like it. I, uh, my dad used to take us hunting in the woods. It was absolutely the most fun I'd ever had. So, this reminds me of times like that, you know? Though I am getting a little winded.” Dean admitted, laughing at himself. Cas let out a contented hum, nodding his head as he processed the information.

 

“I've always felt like the best memories were made out here, in nature. You can't make mistakes when amongst the trees.” He says, and he looks a little sad. “They're always forgiving. Places like this just feel a little more pure than the rest of the world.”

 

“You can say that again. Dude, I used to camp out all the time. Sammy and I shared this really small tent and we used to stay up all night reading ghost stories from this old book one of us had found in dad's room. It was absolutely the best. I mean, I would love to camp out like that again. The rest of the world just seems a little too busy when you come out to somewhere as peaceful as this.” Dean admits, looking up at the sunlight, which was falling over the ground like an odd painting of splattered shapes, “Of course, I could never live so far out that I couldn't drive into town and get a burger.”

 

Castiel chuckled a little bit. “I would have to agree with you there. I share your sentiment with both burgers and libraries. Not to mention internet connection.” 

 

“Yeah, but you can get internet almost anywhere these days.” Dean teases. Cas nods his head in agreement, and their walk continues in silence. It's peaceful.

 

Eventually, they make their way to a small meadow. By the time they're actually there, Dean's stomach is growling in protest, and he gladly helps Cas spread out the blanket in the safe shade of the trees. Dean plops himself down as Cas unloads the food he brought-- two sandwiches, (PB&J) a thermos of warm tea, plastic cups, an entire bag of plain chips and a jar of dip, finally finished by two pieces of an apple pie. Dean immediately reaches for it, and has his hand smacked. 

 

“Not until after we're done with the food.” Castiel scolds. Dean rolls his eyes, but actually waits until Cas has sat down and everything is set out to start eating. The PB&J has grape jelly, and he's thankful that Cas didn't put strawberry on it like Sam tended to do. He needed food right then, and he wouldn't want to have to be rude and decline. 

 

Once they were both done eating, they dug into the pie. Dean absolutely devoured his, savouring the taste of apples and the flaky crust that absolutely was the best thing he'd ever eaten. As soon as he was finished, he lay back across the blanket and closed his eyes, patting his stomach contentedly. 

 

“Dude, you're going to make me fat.” He commented. “I think that was the best pie I've ever had.”

 

“Good, because I made it myself.” Cas tells him. Dean sits straight up, looking at Cas cynically, as if trying to judge whether or not he's telling the truth. Nothing but the truth shone in Cas's eyes, and Dean nodded his head appreciatively. Okay, yeah, he definitely wanted to marry Cas now. 

 

“Hey, you've got a little piece.” Dean lied, gesturing to the side of Cas's face. Cas looked confused for a moment before his tongue darted out, trying to get the piece. After he was satisfied with his work, he turned his head towards Dean, as if asking if he had gotten it. Dean shook his head no. “Here, let me get it.”

 

He leaned forward and kissed the side of Castiel's mouth, hesitating a moment until Cas turned back to him. Their full mouths pressed up against each other, hot and demanding and causing shivers to go through Dean's body. Cas slowly moved towards him, Dean making subtle adjustments so that they didn't have to break apart, and Cas was stradling him, hands running up and down his chest and torso. Dean let out a moan, and Cas swallowed it up, shoving his tongue into Dean's mouth.

 

Cas gave his own low groan as Dean bucked his hips up, causing their half-hard cocks to meet through the fabric. He broke away, gasping, his eyes hooded in lust. It took a moment for reality to sink in, and he gave a small frown once it did.

 

“We really can't get carried away. We're in the middle of the forest, Dean. I think we'd better stop here.” Cas commented. Dean felt his stomach sink. Cas leaned forward, though, for one last peck. 

 

He climbed off and gathered up their things, placing them in the picnic basket. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment or kudos!


	14. A Late Night After Star Wars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am constantly surprised by how absolutely breath taking your response to this story is. I can't begin to thank all of you enough, most of the time ;-)   
> This chapter is basically all smut, with just a dash of plot at the end. Because I'm evil, okay.

When they finally got back from the picnic and to Dean's house, it was seven in the afternoon. Dean frowned at the time, not wanting the day to end so early. He knew, however, that inviting Cas inside could leave the wrong impression. I mean, he _did_ want Cas, but he didn't want to pressure him into anything, and offering to let him come inside might give him the wrong message and put something there that shouldn't have been.

 

So, in the end, he decided that he would invite Cas in to watch the second Star Wars movie, and hope he didn't take the invitation the wrong way.

 

“So, Cas,” Dean started, standing outside his door. “You've only seen one of the Star Wars, do you wanna come in and watch the second? I mean, I still have some tea left over from the Christmas party, too, if you want.”

 

“Of course. I don't have anything else I was planning on doing, so I see no reason to decline.” Cas says. Dean sits up a little straighter as he unlocks his door, gesturing for Cas to come inside.

 

He went to the DVD player and started digging through his movies, mumbling to himself as he attempted to find the right one. His eyes scanned the untouched sets and he cringed; he really needed to organize his dang movies, geez. It was then that he realized that Cas was probably feeling slightly awkward, just standing there.

 

“Hey, if you want to, you can go and make some tea. I mean, you've been here before, you know where stuff is, right?” Dean asked, turning around. Cas nodded his head before turning and stalking into the kitchen. Dean had the brief and ridiculous thought that Cas almost looked like a cat just then, silently doing as he pleased while his owner was busy. He shook the thought off and went back through the DVDs, finally finding the one.

 

He raised it in triumph before he popped open the DVD player and stuck it in. Still in the slot was the first Star Wars, since he hadn't actually watched anything new since Cas had been over for Christmas. He carefully put it back in the case and replaced it with the second, placing the first at the very front of his movie collection. Heck, he was going to organize his dang movie collection later, so he might as well get a good start on the project. Star Wars obviously deserved to be at the front of the line.

 

He turned around and found Cas slinking back with two large and steaming cups of tea. Before he could even ask what the second one was for, it was placed gently in his hands. He doesn't typically drink tea, but he thinks it would be rude to refuse the offer, so he takes a sip. It tastes of herbs and honey, and though he doesn't drink it much, he thinks he might have found a favourite tea.

 

“Are you ready?” He asks, lowering himself down onto the couch. He did it slow and carefully, as to avoid spilling the warm, delicious concoction in his hands. He actually wonders if Cas has taken a cooking class; first the cake and now the pie, and tea. (Though he supposes that tea wouldn't actually be taught in a cooking class, anyways, and the idea itself is honestly a little unlikely now that he thinks about it).

 

“As ready as I'll ever be.” Cas says, sitting down next to him. The entire couch is open and empty, but he chooses to sit with his hip lightly touching Dean's. Dean tries to keep his focus on the movie, not on the absolutely beautiful heat radiating from his side, but he can't keep himself occupied for long. Soon, he's very gently, and very slowly, so slowly that he himself doesn't even realize it, leaning against Castiel. Cas simply scoots closer and leans back, leaving them essentially snuggling on the couch as the movie plays. Somewhere in the time, Cas's feet come up off the floor to tuck behind him.

 

The screen flashed as lightsabers clashed and Dean slowly started to lean the other way. Cas followed him, and through a series of somewhat complicated and subtle adjustments, Dean was laying down, both or their tea cups were on the floor, and Cas was eagerly watching the movie from on top of him. It was warm and comfortable and everything Dean could have asked for. Cas made a mighty fine blanket.

 

Soon, Dean felt himself begin to tire. It had been a long day, and he was used to going to bed around this time. So, without his knowledge, his eyes shut and slowly the world dimmed.

 

As his vision came back, things seemed a little... _off._ Maybe it was the fact that the clock was now pointing to two, and AM or PM wouldn't make sense right then, or maybe it was the hand slowly working it's way down his pants, making him shudder.

 

“What's-” He choked out. His lips were soon covered by Cas's, hot and insistent.

 

“Shhh, Dean, wanna make you feel good.” Cas mumbled. Dean thought it was slightly out of character, but he wasn't going to complain. Right at the moment, he honestly didn't care. Especially not when Cas's hand very slowly and very carefully wrapped around his length and started to slowly pump-- and hey, if he didn't know where his clothes went or how they got off in the first place, who was to blame him?

 

“Cas,” He mumbled, arching up into the hand. Cas pressed light kisses all along his neck as his hand continued to work, pumping and squeezing Dean's throbbing member. “Oh, Cas,” Dean repeated, in a daze.

 

He felt his shoulder being shaken, and the erotic scene slowly faded away. He startled as his eyes flickered open, to reveal the screen still playing the Star Wars credits, and Cas, fully clothed, laying on top of him. His eyebrows knitted together as he began to slowly process what had happened-- He had been watching TV with Castiel, they had been weirdly snuggling, he had drifted off, and he must have had a wet dream. It was fine; he didn't feel wet, so at least it wasn't embarrassing. There was no way Cas would notic-

 

“You were mumbling my name in your sleep.” Cas said. Cas shifted his weight, just a little bit, and Dean was suddenly aware of the _massive hard-on_ he'd gotten from the dream. His face was absolutely on fire as Cas's eyes went upwards, and came back down as he put together the puzzle pieces. You could practically hear the small 'click' as he realized what had happened.

 

“Oh my god, I'm sorry man,” Dean started, squirming around some himself. It was then that he realized he should really stop moving, because _holy crap rubbing up against Cas's leg wasn't helping the situation._

 

“It's fine. You should know that I dream about you, too. It's a natural part of sleeping, you can't actually control-”

 

“Okay, please. You telling me that you have _wet dreams about me too_ isn't really helping my situation right now. I'm trying to kill this boner before I end up with blue balls later.” Dean admits. Cas's head just tilts, the most innocent move Dean has seen in his life, and he closes his eyes, trying to concentrate on getting rid of the mental image. However, Cas shifted his leg, and Dean was lost.

 

“If you'd like, I could help you with your problem, Dean.” Cas clarifies. Dean's eyes re-open then, to gaze into Cas's. They're lust-filled, practically undressing him, and Dean unconsciously licks his lips. He notes then that there is, in fact, a growing bulge pressing up against his leg, coming from Cas's pants.

 

“Oh god, yes, I'd like that.” Dean says, letting his head fall back as he blinks, hard. He opens his eyes again when Cas grabs at him through the fabric, slowly hardening himself. Dean's mouth falls open silently as Cas slowly rubs through his clothes, and he's trying to think straight, which is a little hard at the moment. He doesn't know what Cas has in mind, but he'd like to find out. Truthfully, though, he knows that at this point he'd be okay with just about anything expected of him.

 

“Dean, do you have any lubrication? I'm going to try and do something I read about once, in a fanfiction.” Castiel inquired, his hand leaving the bulge. Dean nods, shifting a bit. As he did, Cas's knees lost their purchase, and suddenly, their cocks were pressed together through clothes. It took Dean a minute to stop panting.

 

“Yes, it's in the bedroom though.” Dean admits. Cas looks slightly put off as he slides off of Dean, his feet making way to the floor as he stands. He stretches a little bit, and gestures towards the bedroom.

 

“It will be easier to just do it here, but I'm not sure as to whether or not it would be invading your personal space if I retrieved it myself.” Cas said. Dean got up then, swinging his feet off the couch and standing. He paused to give Cas a kiss, humming in approval as a tongue was thrust roughly against his own. As they pulled away, a thin trail of saliva connected their lips.

 

“I'll go get it. I'll be right back.” Dean mumbles. He lets his hand subtly brush up against Cas's bulge as he walks out of the room, and he feels the hungry eyes that are glued to the back of his neck as he forces himself to walk rather than run into the bedroom.

 

Once he's there, he frantically dashes to the nightstand and opens it up, bringing out some strawberry-scented stuff he bought a couple of months ago. It wasn't the most manly (or arousing) of smells, but he was honestly too turned on to care right then. He forced himself, again, to walk back into the room, and is glad when he returns to find Cas standing in exactly the same place, palming himself through his pants as he waits for Dean to get back.

 

“Took you long enough. Come over here and sit down, on the couch.” Cas instructs. Dean saunters over and plops himself down, finding himself face first with Castiel's bulge. He wonders briefly if he's going to learn how to give a blowjob right then, pushing down the wave of panic at the thought, and clears his throat. He pretends like he doesn't feel a wave of relief go through him as Cas straddles him, his knees sinking down against the couch before he slowly shifts back in Dean's legs, sinking down a bit.

 

Dean naturally feels his knees part, and suddenly, their crotches are together again. He lets out a small, wet gasp as the feeling, trying not to make any more embarrassing sounds as Cas reaches forward and gently glides his zipper down, and his cock into the cold air. He grits his teeth as Cas reaches down and unzips his own pants, letting his own glorious member free of its constricting confines.

 

Dean hisses as Cas's cock slowly slides against his. It's dry and burns a little, but he gets the idea now and knows that'll be fixed soon. The sound of the lube bottle uncapping rings in his ears, and as Cas does that, he takes his shirt off, not wanting to get anything on it.

 

Cas sees this and carefully slips his shirt over his head with the hand not holding the bottle of lube, being careful not to get any of the lube on his shirt as it runs over his hand. Dean takes a second to admire his perfectly sculpted chest and arm muscles before the scent of strawberries hits him, and he doesn't know how, but suddenly that's a real turn-on. Especially when Cas's hand comes down to briefly coat his own cock before wrapping around Dean's, a couple of fond pumps leaving him plenty wet.

 

Their cocks press together again, and Cas wipes his hand on his pants, not caring. As soon as he was dry, that same hand came up to clutch at the couch behind Dean as Cas slowly began to roll his hips, making their cocks glide against each other. Dean lets out a small groan, letting his hips cant upwards, and very small sounds of reassurance come from Cas.

 

Dean looks up at the man on top of him, and suddenly, there are insistent lips pressed against his, as Cas's hips continue to move. Dean is just starting to really feel good, his cockhead swollen and sensitive as Cas moved against him.

 

“Feels so good, Cas.” Dean mumbles against his lips. He lets his head fall back as Cas moves again, and his dick gives a throb against Cas's. Cas lets out his own small, defeated groan as he feels the pulse, his rhythm increasing to reflect his pleasure. His head falls forward and against Dean's neck, right at the juncture, right where Dean's smell seemed to wrap around him like a blanket, and he gave a small lick to the skin.

 

He began to slowly suck, humming as his hips rocked back and forth, lips working against skin to leave a delicate purple bruise, marking Dean as his own. Dean let go at this point, letting out small pants, listening to the wet slide of skin on skin and matching it in rhythm with occasional moans and movements. His hands came up to grip Castiel's shoulder blades, fingers slowly tracing the muscle he found there as he was slowly worked higher and higher, feeling better and better.

 

Cas finally pulled away from his hickey, and his forehead rested on Dean's, reminiscent of what they had done in the movie theatre. Dean flashes back to then, thinking about how it was just as hot then, but now, he had Cas all to himself. He let his hands slip down Cas's back and moved to grope his ass, causing Cas's rhythm to falter slightly as he got over the small surprise. Soon enough, though, he was back to the rhythm, circling and circling, precum beading on the tips of both of their arousals.

 

Cas finally snaked a hand down and wrapped it around both of them, beginning to pump up and down and up and down. The room was filled with the smell of sweat and sex and strawberries as they were slowly pumped against each other, Cas stopping to rub his thumb over the head of their erections. Dean let out a small whine before giving up and throwing his head back, moaning.

 

“Cas, faster,” He gruffly demanded, leaning forward to place wet and sloppy kisses all over Cas's face. Castiel complied, letting out his own groan of Dean's name as he tightened his fist, bringing their cocks closer together. Dean shifted his hips, several times, trying desperately to achieve the friction that both of them so craved.

 

Cas went faster and faster as both of them felt climax approaching, his grip tightening around them as he found himself closer and closer to the edge. He tried to hold on just a little bit longer, but Cas groaned his name roughly, and suddenly, the whole world was pleasure.

 

He cried out Cas's name as he climaxed, cum coming in long white spurs and smearing on Cas's dick, their bare chests, and a small bit on the couch. Cas came about halfway through Dean's orgasm, his own release coating both of them as well. Dean was panting and sweaty and entirely fucked out, body still pleasantly humming from the aftershock of the orgasm.

 

Cas lifted his hand to his face, covered in the mixture of their cum, and licked a stripe through it. It was a pretty damn good thing that Dean had just gotten off, because if he hadn't, he'd be hard again in seconds. Cas didn't even do it like he meant it to be sexy; it seemed as casual as licking syrup off of your hand.

 

“Dude, that's hot as hell.” Dean admits, pointing to Cas's hand.

 

“Thank you. I suppose it would be your job now to go and retrieve a wash cloth to clean up with, though.” Cas said, standing up. Dean nodded his head, tucking his softened dick back into the confines of his pants before he walks away, going to get something to clean both of them up with.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The next day, Dean talks with his Guild about his relationship with Cas.

 

“Guys,” This really isn't the best time to bring it up, as they're in the treasure caves again and he doesn't want to make them distracted, “I think I have something I need to tell you about.” Because, fuck it, he wasn't honestly going to find a better time.

 

“What is it, Dean?” Charlie questions, hitting the troll they had just been working on. He paused, thinking through his words. The exactly right ones don't come for a little while, and he can sense everyone getting slightly frustrated at his silence.

 

“Come on, bozo, you didn't forget how to speak, did you?” Jo demands. Dean takes a deep breath.

 

“Well, you remember what happened with me and Cas at the Christmas party, right?” He starts, then scolds himself. Of course they remember, he's heard tons of jokes about it ever since then. Most of them had been 100% accurate and it was just the Guild's way of showing that they loved him, (they show emotions in awfully funny ways sometimes) but that seemed like a stupid question.

 

“What, your homo show? No, we all forgot about it.” Ash said, ever the sarcastic one. Dean rolled his eyes.

 

“Yes, that. Well, me and Cas have sort of come to an agreement that we're gonna do more of that. A lot more of that.” He admits. There's dead silence from all ways, and suddenly, Dean feels a little bit alone in this. Charlie finally unfreezes and kills the troll, leaving them all free to talk, as long as nobody moves any closer to the caves.

 

“Well good for you, my man.” Jo breaks the silence, and Dean can hear the shrug on the other side, “I was wondering when you'd put on your big boy panties and come out of the closet.”

 

What? Okay, Dean had never worn- Okay, once. He'd done just about anything once, though, so he assumed it didn't really count.

 

“Okay, you totally have to let him come along with us on a mission though, so we can see his gaming skills. We have to approve or else he can't have your hand in marriage.” Charlie jokes. There's a collective chuckle, and Dean's glad that everyone is so accepting, despite the fact that the mention of marriage is a little bit jarring.

 

“Alright, alright. I doubt the marriage proposal will happen any time soon, but I'll see if I can have him over in the next few nights to play.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment, they will motivate me to update faster!


	15. Castiel Meets the Guild (Again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I sort of took this chapter and went, "Fourth wall? What fourth wall? HAHA!"   
> So I hope you're all okay with that. I tried to make this mainly a funny chapter sort of as my thank you to all of you who have been reading. If I'm correct in my math, this chapter puts the word count officially over 50,000, which is of course a big accomplishment in a story. This is the fourth fanfiction I've written that crosses the line into being novel-length~ So that makes me very pleased.   
> In case you're wondering about the potential length for this fanfic, well... I've not 100% decided yet, but I can guarantee you guys at least five more chapters. I think It probably won't go much further than that, though.

The next day, Cas was comfortably sitting next to Dean, his high-tech laptop plugged onto the charger and his headphones plugged into the port. Dean was in the kitchen, trying to make tea the way Castiel had the night before. He mixed the honey into the water and took a large sip, finding it to be (while not nearly as good as Cas's was) suitable for the occasion. He carried them back out to the couch.

 

“I'm excited for you to get to show off for them. I'm glad you play the game, dude, because it would have been embarrassing going in with a first level character.” Dean teased, smiling. Castiel reached forward and took a long sip of his tea, ignoring the talking for the moment.

 

When Dean had asked Cas if he would be free to talk to Charlie and them, admitting that he had finally come out of the closet, Cas was more than happy to oblige. He said he had actually been meaning to meet Charlie outside of a social event anyways, because she was the princess of the renaissance thing, (which he had informed Dean was technically the SCA, not just a “renaissance thing”) and he was into that, too. Dean thought they would probably get along great.

 

“So, are we going to play now?” Cas questions, opening up his laptop. Dean rolls his eyes and sits down next to him, scooting close. He's learned by now that there's really no point in trying to keep any distance between him and Cas; he tends to sit in the smack-dab middle of the couch, no matter how big or small it may be.

 

“Hold your horses, I'm getting my computer started up.” Dean scolds. Castiel's eyes appraise his system, and he feels a little bit judged. He clutches his laptop a little bit closer, looking at Cas accusingly. “I know it's old. She's my family, though. Besides, I'm getting a new one soon anyways.”

 

“I didn't say anything.” Castiel says, the corner of his lip twitching up as he logs in to his account. Dean decides that it's best not to respond as he unlocks his computer, opening to Chrome and getting down to business finding Castiel. He's not that hard to find; his username in this game is “blue-eyed-angel”, which makes Dean snicker just a little bit. It seemed almost like pure and unadulterated fate that landed them together, fate of the highest caliber. Whatever it really was, fate or luck, Dean was grateful.

 

He added Cas to his tag alongs, and then entered into the guild. Both of their characters were thrown into the wastelands, where the air was dark and fog rolled over the small hills. Dean slowly and cautiously crept forward, eyes scanning the screen for the rest of the gang. He was relieved to find Charlie in the corner of the screen after just a few steps.

 

Her Wizard's staff was out in front of her, lighten up. She was using it to peer through the veil of water as she walked forward, Jo and Ash trailing just a little bit behind her. Jo had her character's shield and sword out, clearly hoping to improve her hand-to-hand combat skills instead of using her magic. Dean was grateful for the extra help with the monster, but he also knew that Jo was typically better with her magic. He could only hope that whatever beast roamed in this part of the world was easier to conquer than most.

 

“Dean, you brought Cas. Why don't you introduce him?” Charlie suggested, happily. It broke the spell of intense concentration from the other players, and everyone stopped moving to hear about the happy couple.

 

“Well, you've all already met him, so I'll let Cas go ahead and tell you anything he thinks you should know. Cas?” He offers. Castiel clears his throat.

 

“Well, I'm a couple of levels ahead of Dean in character, and I'm a shape shifter, which means I fight partial magic and partial hand-to-hand combat. I'm very happy to be playing with you here today. I actually have a career in game testing, so this is nothing new.” Cas says, then falls silent. Dean nods his head. It was a little bit dry, but Dean supposes he wouldn't have said much more.

 

“Well that's great to hear. Sounds super cool. I'm Charlie, I was the flaming redhead at the Christmas party. No, it's not dyed. I'm currently the SCA princess and I'm working on Angel/Demon allies with you and Dean.” She announces. Castiel nods his head, and it's on to the next person.

 

“I'm Ash. I basically drink and hack computers for a living. I'm all cool, unless you mess Dean up. He's our best fighter, so if you could keep your hands out of his pants while he's playing it would be much obliged.” Ash says. Dean can feel his face heat up in embarrassment, but Cas doesn't even seem fazed.

 

“I'll try.” He says, flatly. Dean thinks that he probably would have choked had he been drinking something. Subjects changed too quickly for him to comment on the statement.

 

“Well, I'm Jo. I'm a bartender and better than Ash full-time for a living-”

 

“Hey!”

 

“And I'm going to start going to events with Charlie. Actually, I'm pretty sure we all are.”

 

“I'm not looking forward to being a hand maiden again.” Dean complains. He hears Ash snicker on the other side, but chooses to ignore it because he has better things to do with his life and he can't really judge him for laughing because Dean knows he would've done the same awhile ago. And if it wasn't him in the situation.

 

“Well, that's nice to hear. I'm actually involved in the SCA, so it will be nice to know some people at events. It's also nice to meet the princess, since I was forcibly crowned prince this year.”

 

There was a stretch of silence. Dean turned towards Castiel, his eyebrows raised and mouth slightly open in shock. Nobody dared to speak for at least 30 seconds, and it felt like an abyss of silence. Finally, he could no longer take it and cleared his throat, deciding to speak. “They... Forced you to be crowned? How does that work, exactly? Don't you have to win an event to get it or something?”

 

“Not exactly.” Cas explained. “Somebody else has to win an event in your name. One of my brothers, Balthazar, did so without my permission, and I ended up with the crown. I didn't want to take it, but he's actually the one who got me my job in the first place through an alliance with my boss, so declining would seem rude. He's also promised to make sure I get extra work between now and then so I can pay for all the traveling I'd have to do to properly be a member of the court. That's why I've been so busy lately.”

 

“Well, Cas, congratulations. I look forward to working with you this year. And I know now this means my hand maiden will be attending a lot more events.” She teases. Dean rolls his eyes and huffs a little, still in shock over Cas's big reveal. He's not going to say anything more, though, because everyone is creeping forward at this point and he had to concentrate on the mission. He didn't want to be the reason why they lost the battle.

 

Suddenly, the earth started to shake. An unearthly wail sounded from the foggy terrain as a monster rose from the depths of the fog. Soil shifted and fell off of him as he rose from the ground, covered in scales, a great armour for a great beast. A pause passed as everyone looked the monster over, and a loud, “ _Ryyyyybt”_ confirmed their suspicions.

 

“Who's great idea was it to make the boss for this level a giant frog?” Ash demanded, sounding defeated. Everybody generally relaxed; suddenly, the foggy terrain didn't quite feel so terrifying. Looks like the game developers hit a dry spot on creativity... Because it has nothing to do with the author feeling uncreative... What author?

 

“I don't know man, this is some freaky Naruto shit right here.” Dean jokes. What, hentai isn't the _only_ anime he watches. God, you're all perverts.

 

“Well, let's try to beat it. Does anyone know any spells that work good against amphibians?” Charlie questions. Just then, Jo shoots a huge fireball right at the thing's face. Much to her dismay, it didn't bat an eyelash, simply turning its head towards her and blinking with large, unfeeling eyes. Dean thought it was probably the most creepy thing he had seen. As in, ever.

 

“Guys, I think we just pissed it off.” Ash comments. Right as the words, left his mouth, the frog's throat swelled up and its mouth opened, emitting a deep, purple glow from the depths. Dean had just enough time to process that he should _run the fuck away right now_ before a large ball of purple fire erupted from the toad's mouth, running right past the team of them. They all managed to dodge the attack in time, but were left shaking and disturbed in front of a large and still angry toad.

 

“I think we probably shouldn't have underestimated it.” Charlie puts in, which really wasn't all that helpful. Dean was about to comment on just how absolutely unhelpful it was, when he noticed something. Cas wasn't there anymore. Or, at least, Dean couldn't see him. He turned to his gaming partner, curious as to where he had gone.

 

Until, of course, the giant black dragon plummeted out of the sky, raking it's claws along the top of the frog. Everyone in the team started cheering and making noise in absolute shock and wonder as the dragon breathed out a mighty pillar of fire, eradicating the frog. Once every last pound of the beast was charred to absolute coals and embers dying down in the air, it clicked just who the dragon was. Cas's character transformed back before their very eyes, and they all stared in utter shock, nobody saying anything for a minute.

 

“Wow, I bet that was a turn on for Dean.” Ash finally comments.

 

“Be glad you're not where I can hit you, okay buddy?” Dean snips back. There are collective sounds of agreement from everyone else around, and then sounds of light laughter and jubilee.

 

“Cas, how did you learn to transform into a freaking _dragon?_ That's bad-ass! Don't you have to defeat something before you can transform into it? Like, by yourself? Did you beat a dragon that big _by yourself?_ ” Jo gushed, not leaving Cas any time to answer. She was so excited; actually, everyone was. There were very few shape shifters powerful enough to change into a dragon, and if they had one playing with them? Well, the level was going to go by a little quicker than they originally expected.

 

“Yes, I beat a dragon alone. It was an invigorating experience, actually. They're not as hard to beat as one may originally presume.” Cas admits, “I mean, obviously they're harder to take on alone than in a group, but I simply transformed into a mouse and was able to evade detection before it was too late.” He says. Coming from most people, it would sound full of themselves, but from Cas it just sounded true.

 

“Dude, you've got to play with us more often.” Dean says. Cas nods his head and looks pleased with himself,and he glances back over at Dean.

 

“Well, I'm glad I've proved myself to be a valuable addition. I would love to play with your team whenever you so wish me to.” Cas says. Dean thinks that his boner for technical talk has never made itself as known as it was right then, as Cas said that. Dear lord, his voice was absolute velvet sin and Dean was into every second of it.

 

“I, uh, how much longer do you think this battle will last?” Dean asks, because he wants to pounce Cas right here and right now. There was a collective murmuring of uncertainty from the other side of things, and Dean sinks down a little bit in his chair. He charges forward, ready to face whatever comes next. “Okay, then let's get to fighting. The level's not gonna finish itself.”

 

They continued their fights for awhile, coming across two more of the giant toad. Soon, it got a little bit quiet, and Ash decided to break up the lack of talk by teasing the hell out of Dean.

 

“Hey Dean, you know, I'm not all that surprised you and Cas ended up together. I mean, have you read any of the fanfiction for the game? There's angel and demon pairings out the wazoo!” Ash exclaimed. “And I never knew you were such a bottom man, because almost all of them have the angel topping.”

 

“What? Dude, I don't buy that. I'm not a bottom. I don't think.” Dean says, a little uncertainly. Because him and Cas haven't gotten that far, so how can he really say for sure? After that, he gets a little quiet again, until a small notice comes up. It's asking if he's going to allow a link from one of his team mates to come through, and he figures he can trust them and accepts it. He clicks on the link and it takes him to a website lovingly titled, “archive of our own”. He's a little confused and curious as to whether or not somebody just linked him to a site that specializes in history documentation.

 

“Ash, what did you just send?” Charlie asked. Dean could hear her click the link, too.

 

“It wasn't Ash, it was me. It's for Dean and Cas. I found some angel x demon fanfiction and figured since they're all gaga over each other they'd love to read it.” Jo says mischievously. Dean hears a small sound of approval from Ash, who was probably a little jealous he hadn't gone ahead and sent the link himself.

 

“Uh, how appropriate is this gonna be, Jo?” Dean questions. He hears a laugh from the other end, and clicks the “I am willing to see the content” button, waiting for the page to load. He looks over to see that Cas is already reading whatever the hell it is, and he scrolls down a couple of paragraphs to try and see what it was all about. Not, of course, because he wanted to read smut between him and Cas. No, uh, not that in the slightest. He was just... curious as to see what fanfiction was all about.

 

_The Demon slowly took the Angel's cock into his mouth, moving to swallow the whole thing down. He felt it hit the back of his throat and almost choked before relaxing, letting his partner begin to slowly glide back and forth, fucking into his mouth._

 

Dean felt his dick begin to come up for a little visit, thickening and filling with blood. Currently, he was forcing himself to concentrate on reading, shifting uncomfortably in his chair and forcing himself not to look over at Castiel. No, that would create incredibly awkward amounts of sexual tension.

 

_Demon felt his hair roughly pulled as Angel began to move just a little faster, making a better angle. He could hardly help but to moan out the demon's name in sheer and utter bliss as he continued to work his lover's mouth., control and power exercised precisely as he worked himself towards completion. He didn't have to look down to know that Demon had his cock out, stroking and pulling, turned on by Angel's girth._

 

“ _Moan for me. I want to feel your throat vibrate around my cock.” Angel growled. Demon did just that, moaning around the large piece of meat in his mouth. Angel's legs began to quiver at this point, so turned on by Demon's beautiful lips wrapped around his swollen cock. He didn't know how he had ever seen Demon as an enemy._

 

_He began to stroke Demon's hair a little more lovingly, affection clear in his eyes as he approached the edge. Demon felt his own cock buldging and could no longer take it himself-_

 

Dean stopped reading then, pressing the small 'x' in the corner and clearing his throat. He didn't know why it suddenly felt so damn hot in the room. It wasn't like the fanfiction was in character anyways; Cas wouldn't be that rough for simple lovemaking, would he? Dean knows they've exchanged lighter sexual gestures, but suddenly, he finds himself almost wanting more. To see how Cas would react in a sexual situation.

 

“Well, that was intriguing.” Castiel said, breaking the silence. Dean didn't know how he could sound so calm after reading something like that.

 

Jo started cracking up laughing, and Dean heard a dull thud as she fell out of her chair. Ash sounded like he was fighting off his own assault of laughter, and Dean felt his face get even brighter red. Well, at least if the blood was in his face it wasn't going to help his throbbing member...

 

“Thanks, I actually wrote it.” Jo admitted. There was a collective gasp from the rest of the guild.

 

“Jo, you write porn? That's totally rad.” Ash said. Jo laughed a little again, and Dean could tell she was blushing under the compliment. He was a little bit confused himself. I mean, why would a girl write gay porn?....

 

“I think I have to go now.” Castiel said, abruptly. Dean turned to him, a little confused. He'd said he had plenty of time, and the level was almost cleared. Then again, the level _was_ almost cleared, so everyone else could handle getting the rest of it straightened out. “You can handle this, correct?”

 

“Of course. Well, it was nice playing with you, Cas. Please come and guild with us again soon!” Charlie exclaimed. Ash and Jo mumbled their agreements, and Cas signed off. Dean decided to do the same, saying goodbye and waiting a couple of seconds before closing his laptop and turning to his friend.

 

“They didn't make you uncomfortable, did th-” Dean didn't even get the sentence out, before Cas's lips were heatedly pressed against his own. He soon found himself taking the more submissive roll, allowing himself to be pushed back on the couch until Cas was straddling him, tongue in his mouth, hands possessively rubbing all over Dean's body. Dean was already hard from the fanfiction, so he really couldn't help the strangled gasp that escaped him as Cas started to slowly grind their bodies together, letting a small moan escape.

 

“I want to suck you off.” Castiel said abruptly. Dean's head was absolutely reeling from the kiss so far, and he honestly couldn't bring himself to say anything. He was panting hard, chest rising and falling against Cas's as his member strained against his boxers, begging to be set free. Finally, Cas's words clicked.

 

“You want to-- But, how do you get that from the fanfic? It was the other way around.” Dean questions. Castiel raised an eyebrow. That, was not the response he was expecting.

 

“Do you want it to be the other way around? I have no objections to either.” Castiel said. The timbre of his voice had dropped a little, making Dean almost shudder. God, he wanted both so badly.

 

“I-- Can we do both?” Dean asks. Castiel smiles a little bit, and begins to slowly sink down Dean's body in response. Dean looks down at his eyes, gleaming with want and power, and he felt like he could jizz in his pants like a teenager. Cas's eyes shined up through his eyelashes like the blue of the ocean, and he couldn't honestly say no to that. Sure, it wasn't exactly an answer to his question, but who was he to complain?

 

That was, until, of course, his phone rang loudly. He flinched at the sound, and decided to ignore it. Cas continued working his way down Dean's body, but it rand a second time, louder than before. This time, the pause before Cas continued was longer. Finally, as Cas's teeth closed around his zipper, lips full and pouty and kiss-swollen, the phone rang a third time.

 

Cas let his zipper drop, and Dean opened his mouth to protest, but stopped. “You should really answer that. It sounds like it could be important.”

 

Dean reluctantly grabbed his phone off of the side table, sliding it unlocked with the pad of his thumb. Castiel sat patiently, looking off at the ceiling instead of looking at Dean, as Dean checked his messages. All of them were from the guild members, and they all said the same exact thing.

 

_ Are you getting laid? _

 

He stubbornly typed back,  _ Not anymore. There's still hope if you leave me alone. _

 

He turned back to Cas. “So, uh...”

 

He was cut off yet again as lips, soft and pliant and less urgent this time, pressed against his own. He gave a soft hum of approval as they kissed, actually liking that things had lightened up a bit. Cas was, of course, still entirely ready to put on quite the show for Dean.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment or review!


	16. A Blowjob and A Realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another two-day chapter, bow to your queen. Another quick reminder that once school starts I will NOT be able to update so quickly. But for now I'm gonna spoil you guys. 
> 
> This story will *probably* have five more chapters, according to the rough draft in my head. So, yeah. Drawing to a close. Tell all your friends. I'm going to work on trying to make a graphic or something to advertise it when it's done. If somebody wants to do fanart or something please be my guest? Like I would love you 5ever. But it's okay if nobody can, I'll just make the graphic and stuff. 
> 
> This chapter is unbelievably emotionally fluffy towards the end, and there will be a small time skip to the next chapter. After that, the time skips for the rest of the fic will be long and sporadic.

Cas quickly got into the groove, unzipping Dean's pants with his teeth. Dean let his head fall back on the couch, mainly because he didn't want to have to deal with looking down at the moment. He was trying to maintain whatever shred of self-control he had left in his body.

 

“Dean.” Cas said. Dean forced his chin downwards, looking at Cas. Cas was silent for a few moments, as if gauging his reaction. “I need you to decide something. When we do sleep together, are you going to be top or bottom?”

 

Dean had his mind swimming with, _what does this have to do with anything?,_ but figured it best not to ask. He mulled the question over in his head for a couple of moments, until he was sure that the answer he had come up with was the one he wanted. Honestly, with Cas, he could see himself enjoying both sides of the process. “Well, honestly, I thought we could do both? Like, trade?”

 

Cas thinks about this for a moment before he nods, looking pleased with the decision. He smiled and looked up at Dean through his eyelashes as he leaned down and slowly mouthed along the other man's clothed shaft, enjoying the soft noise of pleasure he received in return. He reached up and started to pull off Dean's pants, and Dean let him. Everything felt just a couple of degrees hotter than it had before, so Dean sits up a little and decides to take off his shirt. Pretty soon, the boxers were the only thing left to go.

 

Cas seemed absolutely _set_ on torturing him. He leaned down and mouthed all along Dean's bulge again, before coming back up and beginning to plant light kisses on his stomach. Cas's hands were controlling and firm as they held Dean's hips down against the mattress, making Dean want to beg for this. He slowly pulls the waistband of Dean's boxers upwards with his teeth, before lowering it back down again.

 

Dean's about to tell him to get the fuck on with it, when Cas lightly slips his tongue through the slit in his boxers. He feels the lightest, wettest touch of a tongue on skin, and it feels like his skin is alive with sensation like he's never experienced before. Dean lets out a small groan and Cas feels encouraged, lightly stroking his cock through the underwear with the tip of his tongue. Dean thinks that if Cas doesn't get down to business pretty fucking soon, he's going to cum in his underwear and make a big mess out of everything.

 

Finally, after what feels like hours of the gentle and partially wet touches through or underneath the fabric, he's rock hard and throbbing, and sick of the wait. “Cas, please.”

 

Cas looks up at him, smiling just the smallest bit. Like those were the words he'd been waiting to hear since the day he was born, and Dean was exactly the right one to give them to him. He finally stops being such a fucking tease and his hand, previously grasping Dean's hip, moves up a few inches and pulls the boxers down.

 

It's slightly awkward, Cas sliding off of Dean's body so that the boxers can come off all the way, leaving Dean naked as a baby. Cas does him a favour and takes his own shirt off, allowing Dean to admire the way his shoulders roll as he's crawling back up, intent in his eye as he eyes Dean's fully erected cock. Dean resists the urge to comment on just how _predatory_ Cas looked just then, how it was doing things to his body he didn't know how to describe, but he couldn't. God, no, he couldn't.

 

Cas finally reached back to his goal, throwing an arm around Dean's waist in the vain hope of keeping his bucking under control, at least at first. He reached up with one hand and grasped Dean's dick at it's base, making sure he wasn't going to cum too early. His lips very slowly, (those plump, swollen, pink lips Dean had admired so often) very carefully, wrapped around the head of Dean's cock.

 

Dean felt like he could cum right then and there (of course, he could have held it in had he wanted to), but Cas's hand was preventing it. His hands reached down to desperately grasp something, and he ended up with his fists in Cas's sex hair. He let out a loud, tantalizing groan as Cas slowly slipped down his dick, hot and wet and _so fucking perfect_ for him. Cas's tongue did the same thing as it had before, tracing small lines and shapes on Dean's dick all the way down.

 

Dean bites his lip, throwing back his head in shock at just how fucking _good_ it felt. He hit the back of Cas's throat, but Cas kept going. His sensitive cockhead was entirely buried in Cas's throat, and he no longer had any check whatsoever on the sounds escaping him.

 

He made small sounds of pleasure, short and erratic pants, as he finally bottomed out. Cas had taken all of him down, apparently lacking a gag reflex to tell him to do otherwise. Dean struggled to keep his hips in place, (Cas's arm thrown across his hips helps a little, but he knows he could buck him if he tried) and runs his hands repetatively through Cas's hair, until something occurred to him. Girls liked it... Maybe Cas would like it if-

 

Dean gave a soft yet stern pull to Castiel's hair, causing his member to move the slightest bit in his mouth. Cas gasps a little bit, his eyes already hooded with lust, but somehow becoming even hazier. Dean can't even think through all the hormones coursing through him, and then Cas lets out the _sweetest, most wonderful_ moan he'd ever heard. The vibrations caressed his flesh, and he let out a strangled cry as he let his hips buck upwards, making Cas's throat temporarily _squeeze_ his shaft.

 

“Oh, god, Cas,” He moans, yanking on Cas's hair again. Cas's eyes are shut tightly from a mixture of concentration and arousal, and Dean doesn't think he can take much more of this torture. He needs Cas to start moving, bobbing his head, something or he's gonna go insane.

 

That's when Cas pulled off, leaving a trail of saliva and Dean feeling unbearably hot. A small whine of protest (that Sam will never, _ever_ know about, so help him god) escaped his parted lips, and Cas looked absolutely fucked out. When he spoke, his voice was even scratchier than usual.

 

“I want you to fuck my mouth, Dean.” He said, leaning (almost affectionately) against Dean's hand. Dean felt a small bit of precum leak from his tip at the very thought, and obediently nodded his head over and over again, until Cas's lips finally return to just where he wanted them. Dean thinks he's in heaven this time as Cas bottoms out, then raised up a couple of inches to let Dean have room.

 

The hand laying across Dean's hips raises up and comes back down to support him, and Dean almost can't control that his hips bucked up right then. He gives Cas's hair a tug, slowly rolling his hips forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards, his cockhead squeezed by Cas's constricting throat. He let out a long moan as he thrust in again, hands fisting tight.

 

“Cas, god, yes. Do you like this?” Dean demanded, testing his theory further. He was met with a small moan as his cock shoved into Cas's throat yet again, drawing a small choking sound from the other male. Dean gave a pause before his next thrust, ensuring Cas was okay before he began again, increasing the pace a little bit. He was so hot and pulsing, he could hardly control himself from just giving up control and just rutting relentlessly into the tight heat.

 

“You're such a cockslut.” He continued. Cas's eyes drifted up and met his, full of passion and longing, and Dean knew that Cas was _loving_ the dirty talk. Castiel proved it to him by tightening his throat, and adjusting his tongue to where Dean glid against it on every thrust inward. Dean throws his head back and lets out a long groan, begging himself to hold out just a _little_ longer, for Cas's sake if anything else.

 

Soon, the burning has become too much, and he can't take it anymore. He loses his rhythm, bucking and thrusting into Castiel's mouth harder than before as he feels it approach. He cums down Cas's throat, feeling the resulting echo of pleasure shoot up his spine and through to the very tips of his toes, until he's finally done and Cas has swallowed every last bit of seamen.

 

Dean hardly had time to process exactly what Cas's loud moan during it had meant.

 

Cas pulls away and sits up sharply, looking surprised to look down and see that his pants and underwear are wet and sticky, covered in seamen from his own untouched member. Even though Dean literally just got off, his dick twitched with interest once he realized exactly what that had meant.

 

He'd made Cas cum, entirely untouched. Just my dirty-talking him and mouth-fucking him, he made him pop his top. Dean thinks he probably shouldn't feel as much pride in the sentiment as he does, but can't really bring himself to care. He grabs Cas's shoulders and pulls him in, unsuspecting, for a big and sloppy kiss right on the lips.

 

Cas freezes up initially, before finally relaxing and leaning into the kiss. He lets Dean's tongue slowly press into his mouth, tasting some of himself there. He revels in the feeling of Dean's hands slowly and surely traveling all over his body, even cupping his still warm, seed-covered crotch. Cas pulls away and looks deeply into his eyes, and he decides to be blunt and honest about things. “I'm a little overwhelmed. I've never done that before without being touched- sometimes for prolonged periods of time.”

 

Dean lets out a little laugh. He felt a little bit proud, again, before he finally looks Cas in the eyes again. “Dude, you obviously have a fettish.”

 

Cas looks a little bit confused, but doesn't ask anything so Dean decides it's not the time to explain it. He just leans forward and connects their mouths again, leaving sweet and loving kisses all over Cas's face and neck as soon as they pull away. He picks a nice space just below the collar bone and gives a nice, hard suck, marking Cas as his.

 

“Do you want me to go and make us some tea?” Dean asked, finally pulling away. Cas looks at him, his eyebrows pulled together and scowling a little bit, as if the whole situation had just gotten that much stranger for him by Dean being nice. He feels slightly offended and makes a mental note to be sweet to Cas more often, because his boyfriend deserves it. “You could probably use some, before we get back to the plan. Actually, now that I think about it, we could both use some recoup time.”

 

His phone buzzed against the table, but he ignored it as Cas shook his head yes, getting up and walking merrily to the kitchen. He plopped two tea bags in, put in honey, waited a few minutes to make sure the tea would be strong enough, before he finally removed the bags, bringing the cups back over to Cas.

 

“Your phone rang a second time. You may want to consider checking it.” Castiel mumbled. He looked down, frowning. “These clothes are quite uncomfortable with my seamen about to leak out of them. Do you have something I could change into?” Cas asked. Dean nodded his head, setting down his drink and holding up a finger. He immediately disappeared from the room, down the hallway and to his own.

 

He grabbed a pair of torn and frayed jeans (one that he knew from experience were nice and stretchy, so he knew that Cas would have room to breathe. An old band T-shirt was next on the list, and he grabbed a pair of underwear fresh for Cas, pausing a minute before grabbing one himself. His old one had drying saliva and cum, which did not make for comfortable underwear.

 

He carried the small offering of clothes out to Cas, shoved them unceremoniously into his arms, and told him to go change. Cas simply nodded his head in response, and shuffled his feet to the next room. Dean put on the underwear here, just stepping into them and plopping himself back down on the couch. After a moment of silence, he glanced towards his phone, before he finally grabbed it. One message was from Ash, (expected) but one was from Sammy. He opened the one from his brother first.

 

_Hey, Man? Question: Assuming things stay the same between you and Cas, you'll be bringing him as your date to my wedding, right? I just need to know, because I would like to make some small adjustments to the program if so. Like, get him involved somehow._ Sam said. Dean stared at the phone, slowly processing everything.

 

What if he and Cas ended up staying together  _that long?_ Honestly, now that the thought was there, he couldn't quite get it out of his head. Cas cuddling close to him on cold nights in their little country home, the buzz of bees in the early morning waiting to be tended. Dean kissing him, deep and meaningful every morning before he went to work, pulling Cas closer with his tie and ending up ten minutes late just because he wants to commit Cas's taste to memory, even if he already has at least a hundred other times. Them lounging on the couch next to each other, fighting monsters and battling evil from the comfort of the couch. Nerd talk in the bedroom, going to conventions and SCA stuff together. Dean could see it all, with a startlingly vivid clarity. 

 

This was the strongest he'd ever felt about a person. The thought for Dean, the unattached drifter, the “I'm gonna grow old alone and maybe end up with a cat” guy, was a big one. He never expected his life to change this rapidly. I mean, just a month and a half ago, he thought he was straight. Now, he's in a steady relationship with somebody who has become his best friend. This was the only relationship Dean had ever had where he could actually see things going as far as Sam suggested. And even farther.

 

That was when Cas wandered back in, looking slightly disgruntled and carrying his clothes a little bit away from him, as to avoid the smell. He collapsed on the couch next to Dean and let his clothes drop to the ground in front of him, pulling up his feet to sit Indian style on the furniture. He grabbed his tea and lifted it to his lips, drinking a huge gulp before breathing out a heavy sigh of contentment. Dean thought the urge to kiss him had never been, and never would be, stronger than it was at that moment.

 

He looked so peaceful, so resigned. Like an angel had fallen and landed in his living room, wearing his old clothes. He texted his brother back a simple,  _Yes._

 

“Hey, Cas. I know it's a little early to ask, since the event is still a few months away, but I was just making sure, uh... You would want to go to my brother's wedding with me, right?” Dean questions, tossing his cell phone onto the table. Cas was still scowling into his cup, lips pursed as he seemed to focus on something other than himself. Dean had noticed this long ago; Cas tended to look anywhere but the person he was paying attention to.

 

“Of course. Your brother told me to stand under the mistletoe, this has all been his fault. I'm grateful to him.” Cas admits, taking another sip. Dean smiled a little, taking a big gulp from his own. He wants to be ready to go again in another ten minutes, which means that he'll have to push some fluids. Sure, five of those had already passed, but still. He needed to keep hydrated.

 

Time passed slowly for the two, sipping tea. Dean couldn't force himself to stop admiring Castiel in his outfit, so he gave up and looked the other up and down, giving a small smirk every time he thinks about how those clothes are probably bathed in his scent. He's literally probably all Cas can smell right now, and Dean knows that would drive him wild.

 

Cas eventually finishes the cup, and scoots closer to Dean. Dean wrapped his arm around his friend, putting his own half-drained cup on the table. They're turning together, and like some kind of an intimate dance, they're kissing, bodies sliding together as Dean pushes Cas onto the couch. Really, putting on clothes at all had probably been a waste, and Cas probably knows it. It's simply minutes before Cas is hard and aching against Dean, and vise versa. Dean pushed Cas down onto the couch and lifted his shirt, peppering hot kisses all over the other's skin.

 

“Do you have any lube nearby?” Cas asked. Dean's eyebrows knitted together. He was just gonna give the guy a blowjob. Or... Was he? Was this Cas's way of asking to be fucked? Because... Dean was entirely ready. He wanted to make love nice and gentle and slow with comforting words and soft touches, as fucking girly as all of that sounded, and he would be more than willing to have that now.

 

“Yeah, it's still there from last night.” Dean answered, gesturing towards the door. Cas turned around and retrieved the tube. Dean's heart thumped in his chest as he was passed the bottle.

 

“Good, because I want you to learn how to finger while we're doing this.” Cas said. Dean, while a little dissapointed he wasn't gonna be inside his friend, still thought it was pretty damn hot. Oh yeah, he could get on board with this plan.

 

“That's why you asked who was gonna top.” He said, accusingly. Cas chuckled and nodded his head. Dean smirks and sets to business, unzipping the zipper of Cas's pants in a mimic of what Cas did earlier.

 

Oh yeah, he could see this going places.

 


	17. First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this written last night but wifi wouldn't let me put it up, I'm so freaking sorry ugh.   
> The good news is that I'm gonna be giving you another chapter in less than 48 hours now. Plus this is drawing to a close anyways so I think we're all fine. Right? Well, that being said, PLEASE comment or kudos. I'm going to work on making a graphic for this fic tonight probably.

A week later, Dean was certain that he was ready to make love to Castiel.

 

They hadn't done anything more since the mutual blowjobs, (blowing Cas had been absolutely amazing for him, by the way) but they'd hung out more and talked more and Dean was even more certain every day that Cas was what was best for him. He wanted Cas so badly, give all of himself and receive all of his partner in return. He just... wasn't sure how to go about bringing the topic up.

 

Consent was obviously something crucial, but he didn't just want to awkwardly ask if Cas wanted to get porked or something. That seemed pretty darn mood killing before there even was a mood to kill, and he didn't want to say something that would make the foreplay super awkward. He wanted to have it hot and maybe a little gentle but definently not _awkward._ He'd had awkward hookups before, and it never really ended well.

 

He was, however, at a dilemma of what to do. He knew Cas was asexual, and he didn't want to pressure him into anything he didn't want to do, Cas might need to be in a specific mood or something to be comfortable. He was afraid that if he put Cas on the spot and it wasn't the right time and they ended up doing something, Cas might regret it and it could put a huge roadblock in their relationship. Not to mention Dean knew he would feel like a giant douche and didn't want to be that kind of guy.

 

So, he was more than relieved when Cas brought it up himself.

 

They had been sitting on the couch, watching Star Wars. Cas was firmly situated right in front of Dean, pressed up against him, spooning like an old married couple. The last Star Wars Cas had to see was in the player, and almost over. Cas was paying rapt attention, and Dean used that to his advantage.

 

Dean was simply observing Cas; watching his chest rise, eyes raking up and down the contours of his body, softly pressing forward. Cas's body was radiating delicious heat, and his concentration on the movie never faltered. He was entirely absorbed in everything, and Dean loved it. He had never loved anyone more than he loved Cas in that moment; his skin, his face, how he hadn't said a word in the last two hours, how Dean knew that he was going to go into a lengthy discussion about the plot dynamic after it was done, that Dean would barely be able to keep up with but enjoy every second of. God, everything about this just screamed _Cas._

 

The credits finally rolled, and Cas shifted. Dean scooted back a little, letting Cas turn around. He looped his arm around Cas's waist to make sure that even if he moved a little too fast or lost his balance, he wouldn't fall. He looked down into Cas's beautiful blue eyes and smiled a bit. Cas frowned.

 

“Dean, I'm very happy with our current situation, but there's something that's confusing me. Why haven't you initiated coitus yet?” Castiel asked, looking confused. Dean felt his mouth drop open a little bit, eyebrows raising. He stayed like that for a good thirty seconds before it finally sunk in.

 

“I- I mean, I want to, I just, uh- I didn't want to push you and end up with you regretting anything. I am entirely ready whenever you are-” Dean was cut off by a kiss. Cas's hand moving from Cas's side to Dean's, then slowly working it's way around to his stomach and chest. Cas deepened the kiss, letting his tongue slowly coax Dean's into responding. His hips eventually began a slow rock against Dean's leg, cock slowly thickening.

 

He pulled away, and his face was flushed. He was panting hard. Once he finally caught his breath, he said, “Dean, as long as you feel ready, I would like you to _fuck me._ ”

 

Dean looked at Cas's swollen lips, unruly hair, and he felt the half-hard bulge against his leg. Cas was compliant and willing and being just a tad bit bossy at the same time, (a combination Dean didn't even know _existed,)_ and Dean was more ready than he had ever been. Quickly, he grabbed Cas's face and pulled him into a bruising kiss, tongue asserting itself into the other man's mouth as things heated up. Cas's hand that had been feeling along his chest and shoulders slowly moved down Dean's body to grope at his crotch, and he let out a little whine of surprise and want, breaking the kiss. Cas looked vaguely surprised at the noise. Dean was flat-out embarassed.

 

“Do you like that?” Cas questioned. Not a real question, of course. For once, Cas was being figurative. To illustrate that he was, he gave Dean's crotch a rough fondle, and Dean sucked in a sharp breath. “You're more submissive than I originally presumed.”

 

“I am not submissive.” Dean lied. Cas gave his crotch a small squeeze in response, slowly beginning to rub up against him through the fabric. The loud keen that came out of Dean's mouth was the worst evidence _ever_ if he was trying to prove he wasn't. Dean found himself gripping Cas's broad shoulders, looking into his lust-filled eyes as Cas slowly rubbed him through the fabric. It didn't take thirty more seconds until he was entirely hard and aching against the fabric of his jeans, and he reached down to physically stop Cas.

 

“What's the matter? Can't stop yourself from cumming?” Cas challenged. Dean, in retaliation, (very carefully) rolled them over so that he was straddling Cas on the couch before he pinned Cas's hands above his head, so that he couldn't move.

 

“We'll see who's submissive.” Dean growled, leaning down to kiss Cas again. He didn't linger this time, simply chastely pushing before he moved along, beginning to trail hot, wet kisses down Cas's jaw, slowly and sensually licking along his skin. He bit and nibbled, picking a place just below Cas's collar bone to stop and suck, nipping and licking as he breathed hot air on Cas's skin.

 

As he did, one of his hands moved to holding both of Cas's, and the other trailed down to his chest, slowly sliding further and further south until it reached it's destination. He flat-out unzipped Cas's pants, and Castiel squirmed in anticipation against him. Dean reached in and took out his rapidly hardening length, giving it a few slow and tender pumps before beginning to give special attention to the head, rubbing over it to the same rhythm as he was sucking Cas's neck with.

 

Cas let out a small groan, closing his eyes. His head fell back, giving Dean more access to his neck, and his hips eagerly bucked up against Dean's hand. Dean stoped his sucking and smiled against Cas's skin, letting out a deep chuckle. He slowly raised his head to gaze into Cas's still lust-filled eyes, showing challenge. God, he never imagined it to be like this. They were both taking each other so far apart it wasn't even funny. Cas was slowly working his way under Dean's skin in a way that nobody ever had before. And Dean loved every fucking minute of it.

 

“You're looking a little impatient.” Dean teases, leaning forward for another possessive kiss. A warm trail of saliva connects them as they part, and Dean knows he's mostly talk here. His cock is throbbing against his clothes, and he was about ten seconds away from suggesting that they go ahead and take it to the bedroom. Cas nodded his head, allowing the comment.

 

“Do you want to take this somewhere else or do you have intents of fucking me on the couch?” Cas questioned. Dean couldn't stop himself from going a little weak in the knees at the deep rumble of Cas's voice, the timbre being the most potent aphrodisiac he'd ever encounter. And _god,_ Dean wasn't sure. He'd like to fuck Cas on the bed, but the way Cas had said it when he suggested the couch was so damn hot he barely knew what to do with himself. He shook his head to clear it.

 

“Let's go.” He finally decided, standing up. He offered his hand to Castiel, who eagerly took it and allowed himself to be pulled up. Cas tucked his dick into his pants discreetly as they walked, not wanting the rub of fabric to make him any more sensitive than he already was.

 

Dean led them back to the bed, hurrying a bit as he tried to keep himself under control. He finally reached the door and his hands were shaking with anticipation as he threw it open, pulling Cas into the room before shutting it with his foot behind him. He pushed Cas onto the bed, reaching down to grasp his own shirt and pulled it off, watching as Cas eagerly did the same.

 

Dean straddled him, taking his hands and pinning them to the bed as he slowly began to grind against Cas. The layers of clothing caused Cas to growl in frustration, and he used his strength to flip them. Once he was settled on Dean's hips, (Dean looking mildly impressed and a little confused as to how _that_ happened) he reached down and unbuttoned his pants, rolling off of his partner so that he could shimmy out of them. As soon as his were off, he sat up and practically attacked Dean's, unbuttoning them and pulling them down with scary preciseness.

 

“You're so beautiful.” Dean found himself mumbling, as he took in Cas's naked body. He willingly let his clothes be stripped off, his cock rising to curve seductively against his stomach, red and needy. Cas looked a little thrown off by the comment, but it didn't stop him from climbing back over and pushing their hips together, hissing at the feel of Dean's cock against his own.

 

Dean flipped them back over at this point, Cas's hungry eyes getting to be too much. He was impatient as hell to be buried in Cas's ass, joined together. He reached over to the night stand and grabbed the strawberry lube, popping it open and immediately coating three fingers with the stuff. He lets Cas scoot up on the bed, and he's kissing down Cas's body, leaving a trail of pecks as he reaches his destination.

 

Dean gently spread Cas's legs, leaning down to flick his tongue against the head of Cas's cock. Cas relaxed some, his hands moving down to tangle in Dean's hair. Dean lay his head affectionately against Cas's thigh as his finger slowly got closer and closer to it's goal, and eventually pressed against Cas's entrance.

 

He licked a stripe up Cas's manhood as he slowly pushed the finger in, to distract from the slight discomfort. Once he was entirely in, he took Cas in his mouth and started running his tongue along the veins, making Cas moan and yank his hair. Dean felt his dick give a dull twitch against the fabric; Cas's hands in his hair combined with how hot and soft it was inside of him was really doing things to Dean. He was putting all of his self control into trying to be patient with this, for Cas's sake.

 

He moved the first in and out a couple of times, sucking as he did. Once Cas was sufficiently loose, Dean pressed in a second finger. He slowly began to scissor and pump them in and out, bobbing his head up and down on Cas's cock. Finally, Cas bucked up, and he forcibly pulled Dean away.

 

Dean felt a rough tug on his hair and let out a moan as Cas's member slipped out of his mouth, his eyes drifting up to hold Cas's gaze. He was sweaty and panting and looked pretty darn fucked out already, for which Dean was immensely proud.

 

“If you don't fuck me this instant I will leave.” Cas threatened. Dean gave a chuckle, more than eager to get things started himself. He crawled back up the bed to Cas, jumping in surprise as a pair of strong legs came up to wrap around his waist. He connected their lips savagely, tongue digging into Cas's mouth and exploring eagerly.

 

He lined up his member with Cas's entrance, reaching down to wipe what was left of the lube onto himself. Once he was sure he'd left enough that it wouldn't be too dry for Cas, he slowly began to shove in, fingers digging into Cas's shoulders as he slowly did.

 

Inch by inch he buried himself, slowly sinking down to the hilt. Once he was entirely seated, he broke away from the kiss, pressing his forehead against Cas's and letting out a groan. Cas looked entirely unfazed at this point, still sweaty and lusty, but he was relaxed well enough that it didn't hurt all too bad. They panted together for a good thirty seconds, Dean reveling in the tight velvet currently encasing him, before Cas finally spoke up.

 

“Move, Dean.” He requested, shifting his hips. Dean took a sharp breath, steadying himself before he began to slowly, ever so slowly, pull back out. Once he was to the tip, he gave a small and shallow thrust back in, surprised when Cas gave a small sound of approval. He kept their foreheads pressed together, looking deeply into his partners eyes as he began the slow and steady rhythm, hips gliding forward and backward.

 

It wasn't long until he adjusted angles, and Cas gave a small gasp, letting his head fall back. His body tensed against Dean, his arms going up to grip Dean's forearms. “There, again. Please.” He begged.

 

Dean smirked, increasing his pace and aiming for the spot. Cas gave a long groan, nails digging into Dean's forearms. Dean roughly connected their lips as he increased the pace he had set, steadily drilling into the place in Cas that made him squirm. Soon, Cas was a moaning and panting mess underneath him, hips working with Dean's as they both felt the heat and pleasure building.

 

“Like this, huh?” Dean mumbled, groaning himself. Cas was hot and tight and he was barely restraining himself from going faster, wanting Cas to beg for it. But _god,_ Cas fit him like a glove. He was wrapped so tightly around his cock that Dean could barely form the sentences he was spewing, moaning and groaning Cas's name in between. It didn't help that Cas was just as eagerly returning the noises, leaning up to connect their lips or foreheads occasionally. Whenever he did, Dean couldn't help himself from going just a little faster. “You like my cock filling you up?”

 

“Yes, and if you don't make it fill me up _faster and harder_ right now, you'll regret it.” Cas growled. Dean felt his dick literally throb inside of Cas as the commanding words met his ears, and he couldn't hold himself back any longer.

 

He started pounding into Cas hard and fast, the obscene sound of skin slapping against skin picking up in pace. Cas's whole body was shaking from the pleasure, his eyes shut tightly as he tried to keep some of his louder noises to himself. He assumed any neighbors they had on this floor would be filing a noise complaint either way.

 

Dean felt himself nearing the edge, and he grabbed Castiel's hard cock in his right hand, beginning to pump Cas in time with his thrusts. Dean's brutal pace in combination with the way his hand was milking Cas's cock had Cas moaning loudly, Dean's name falling from his lips like praise as he felt the heat threaten to consume all rational thought. Dean's rhythm was unraveling him quicker than he had planned.

 

“You gonna cum? You gonna cum on my cock? With me buried inside you?” Dean growled possesively, biting the side of Cas's neck and sucking hard, leaving a second bruise. Cas moaned out, the obscene idea making him want to beg for more. “You love me buried inside you, don't you?”

 

“Yes, yes, Dean.” Cas moaned, finally letting go. Pleasure was sparking out through his entire body, so much it was almost painful. He wanted to release, and then he wanted Dean to cum so hard inside him it'd take days to all come out. He needed it like he needed the air he was breathing. “Faster.”

 

“Cum for me.” Dean growled possessively. With that, Cas finally let go.

 

Pleasure rippled up through his body as all his muscles collectively tensed, his orgasm rippling through him. Long white strands of silky cum flowed out as he moaned Dean's name, feeling Dean lose his rhythm and hearing his own name returned as Dean's cum was pumped inside of him, making him even feel more full than before. He panted, coming down, as Dean collapsed on top of him, both of them still connected.

 

They stayed silent for a few moments, no words needing to be said. The cum on their chests ( _Cas's_ cum, Dean thought happily) started to dry and become sticky. Dean slowly slipped his softened member out of Cas and rolled over, letting out a long sigh. His whole body felt nice.

 

“Cas, I think we should do that again sometime.” He said. Cas hummed in agreement, already looking pretty damn tired from the workout. Dean decided that he couldn't let Cas go to sleep covered in cum and slowly got up himself, legs wobbling. “I'll be right back.”

 

He walked to the bathroom and grabbed a hand towel, coating it in water. He slowly sauntered back into the room, almost dropping the towel at what he saw.

 

Cas was putting on his underwear, and standing, looking for his pants. Dean's brows pulled together as he brought over the towel, thrusting it into Cas's hands. “What do you think you're doing?”

 

“Isn't this the part where I'm supposed to leave?” Cas asked. Dean would have been hurt, had Cas not actually looked fairly confused at the question. He thought back to how Cas hadn't actually had much sexual experience, and wondered if everyone he'd slept with had either kicked him out or hightailed it as soon as they were done. The thought was actually sort of depressing.

 

“No, this isn't a fuck and run, buddy. I mean, you can if you want to, but I'd prefer you to stay.” Dean said, trying not to sound too controlling. He wanted Cas to do what made him comfortable. But, of course, he also wanted Cas to stay and spoon. Dean was feeling slightly emotional after their first time.

 

“Okay. Well, what are we going to do?” Cas asked. He looked confused again, and he finally unfroze his hands, working to clear the cum off of his stomach.

 

“Well, I'm going to take a nap. You look tired as hell too, so we should probably both lay down.” Dean said, collapsing in the sheets. It wasn't long until he felt a small shift in weight distribution behind him, and he knew that Cas was on the bed. After a few minutes of awkwardly waiting, Dean finally realized he was going to have to explain what he wanted.

 

“Cas, you should probably go ahead and touch me. Don't be shy, I'm not gonna bite. If you wanna, I don't know, spoon or something, that's fine.” Dean elaborated. He waited, but all he got was a hand thrown loosely around his shoulder.

 

“I don't know what you mean.” Cas said. Dean gave a deep sigh, moving backwards. Skin pressed up against skin as he fit his body to Cas's, and Cas molded to him. Once they were both settled, he felt warm and nice and a little bit better about the whole situation.

 

“There we go.” He said. He was pleased to find that Cas had slipped off his underwear again, so their contact was entirely skin-on skin. Dean was a little embarassed at being the small spoon, (especially to someone shorter than him) but he got over it, concentrating instead on just how _right_ it felt to have Cas there. Finally, he was entiely relaxed, and felt his eyes droop closed.

 

“Dean?” Cas asked. Dean hummed in response. “I find this much more pleasant than leaving.”

 

Dean smiled just the smallest bit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment?


	18. A Prince's Story and A Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't very sexy. it skips forward roughly a month from the last one. Sorry it took so long!
> 
> I'm trying to decide between two stories for my next one, but I feel like I can't! UGH. Would you guys be up for a small poll on what you'd like to see from me?

Chainmail clinked as Dean walked through the throngs of people, Charlie leading him along happily. She was practically skipping, and people didn't even take a second glance. They parted like the red sea for her, their soon-to-be queen. Now, the only problem she had was making sure her handmaiden kept up.

 

“Charlie, slow down!” Dean teasingly shouted. Charlie stopped entirely in her tracks, making Dean have to dig his heels into the ground to stop moving in time. She turned on her heel, her eyebrows raised.

 

“I'm going at a perfectly normal speed, you're the one that made me late when you had to spend twenty minutes on your hair, Dean Winchester.” She said. Dean had to think quickly to dodge the playful hand that swept up to mess it up. He really had put a lot of work into his hair, and he didn't want to have to redo it. Once he was certain he was in the clear, he grabbed Charlie's arm and turned her back around, his other hand snaking out to wrap around her chest and pull her back.

 

“My, my, how the tables have turned. Hey, I wonder if princesses are still ticklish?” he questioned, lightly skimming his fingers up her side. She jumped from it, her eyes widening as she struggled to get out of his grasp. He let out a long laugh.

 

“Dean Winchester, you'd better not!” She threatened. That, of course, made the icing on the cake for Dean. He quickly began to run his hands along her sides, holding her still as she tried desperately to escape. She chuckled and laughed and even snorted a couple of times, and Dean still wouldn't stop. Finally, when she was gasping for breath and squirming in his arms, he let her go. She stumbled a few steps before she turned and looked back at him, revenge and mischief bright in her eyes.

 

Suddenly, she took off. She was weaving through people and around booths, too fast for Dean to possibly follow. He sprinted after her, but unfortunately, the crowd didn't part for a handmaiden. Dean had always been a good runner, though, and he kept up for the most part. His legs were slightly achy and sore, his lungs burned, but he didn't actually know the way to the feasting tent so he really had to keep up. Eventually, though, she rounded a corner and he hunched over, panting. Nobody he knew was in sight.

 

He shook his head, blinking hard. He started to walk in the direction she had went, hoping to find her. He called out her name a couple of times, hoping she would emerge from a corner and give up her game. He rounded a couple of corners and went around a couple of tents, hoping to find her there waiting for him. Unfortunately, all that he came across was empty space and a lot of other people.

 

Finally, he rounded a corner to see a bright flash of red disappearing into a tent. He narrowed his eyes and plowed after, waiting just a second outside the door, listening to see if he heard her voice. Once he was sure he did, he plowed through the tent flap-

 

And ended up face-first with Castiel, their bodies bumping together as he, startled, looked down. Cas's electric blue eyes gazed back up at him with an eery calm, and he felt a small blush rise as he realized he'd unconsciously wrapped his arms around the other man.

 

“Well, uh, hey there.” He said, lamely. Cas's eyebrows raised and somebody in the room coughed, who Dean couldn't be sure. He finally released his lover from the awkward hug, Cas smirking just the smallest bit.

 

“Hey there indeed. You're late.” Cas rumbled. Dean rolled his eyes and smacked Cas's butt as he passed, going to take his seat by Charlie. Cas didn't have a real reaction to it, just letting it go and taking the seat on the other side of their Princess. People were watching their small group now; Dean hoped they didn't come off as pretentious and clique-y. Because they weren't like that; they were just close.

 

Jo and Ash sat, giving each other the sexual tension bedroom eyes again. Dean wished they would get it over with already and fuck; they were driving everyone crazy will all of the constant bickering or teaming up against people. They were so obviously pining after each other that it hurt.

 

The meeting commenced. It was long and a little bit boring, but about halfway through it he ended up in a subtle three-way foot war with Charlie and Cas. That, needless to say, made things a bit more interesting. After an hour of what seemed like the endless droning of when and where the next convention would be held, battle safety, yada yada, they were finally dismissed to eat.

 

Dean dug in, keeping his eye on Cas most of the time. His boyfriend had a very peculiar way of never getting anything on himself, no matter what they were eating, and Dean still couldn't figure out how he fucking did it. The most he'd ever seen was a small chunk of apple pie on the side of his mouth, and Dean had kissed that away... Now, if he had seen it, he probably would have just stared. Because it wouldn't be every day it happened again, and he was gonna appreciate something like that.

 

Cas didn't have a crumb on him when the plates were taken away. Charlie stood and stretched, shaking her shoulders as she let her muscles expand. She bent over the table and stretched her legs, her eyes scanning the strategy map for the battle they would be having later. Dean had agreed to be in it, so he would be fighting alongside Cas and all of his friends. It seemed like everything was going great.

 

“Cas!” Every head in the tent turned towards the loud, accented exclamation. Dean's eyebrows rose as Cas reluctantly stood still as arms were wrapped around him and squeezed. The man pulled away, his blonde hair sticking up in all directions and his chainmail hanging oddly off of his gangly body. He couldn't weigh more than Charlie, but he was at least five inches taller than her.

 

“Who's this?” Dean asked, forcing himself not to get jealous. Cas gave a sigh and patted his friend on the shoulder. Everyone else was awkwardly silent, waiting to see how this would unfold.

 

“Dean, this is my friend Balthazar. We were room mates in college. He won the crown for me and has helped me to find and keep my job through his relationship with my boss, Crowley.” Cas introduced, stepping away. Balthazar stuck out a hand and Dean slowly returned the gesture, tightening his grip as they bobbed up once, down once, up once, released. It was the stiffest hand shake he'd ever gotten, and he could feel something a little more tense crawling through the air.

 

“I'm Cas's boyfriend.” Dean introduced himself. He wasn't much one for public displays of affection (most of the time) but his hand reached out numbly to grab Cas's, and pulled him a little closer. For some reason, he felt like Balthazar was probably a pompous, arrogant, douche nozzle.

 

“Oh, lay off. This is all much too formal. Come here, our darling Cassie has already told me all about you.” Balthazar leaned forward and his voice dropped an entire octave, but his words were still loud enough for others to hear. “He said you're quite the pleasant partner in the bedroom.”

 

“I never said that.” Cas interjects. Dean pulls back, uncertain what to make of the situation. Balthazar laughed, his smile reaching his eyes. It made Dean's stomach churn.

 

“I know, but the way you talked about him I knew he couldn't be anything but. You've not been so in love since your little girlfriend... Meg? Was her name? Yes, her. And you were head over heels for her.” He explained. Castiel's face went pale, and Dean felt hatred well up for the pompous douche who had caused it.

 

“Lay off.” He said, pulling Cas a little closer. Cas unfroze at that point, physically pulling himself away from Dean. Dean tried not to be hurt by it.

 

“It's fine. Yes, Dean is incredibly pleasant in bed. Much more so than you.” Cas jabs back. Balthazar, instead of looking offended, beams with pride like his child's just taken it's first steps.

 

“Good for you Cassie, it's always good to see you taking up some attitude. I suppose I should leave you two to talk then, shouldn't I?” He questioned. Without waiting for an answer, Balthazar waltzed out of the tent like he fucking owned the place and disappeared into the crowd.

 

The rest of the guild looked awkwardly at the mounting tension with which Dean and Cas were looking at each other before they all collectively decided it was time to bolt, leaving the two staring at each other intensely. The tent was soon empty, and the silence was thick in the air like a midday fog.

 

“You've slept with that jerk? You're _friends_ with that jerk? I mean, Cas, I'm not one to judge, but seriously? And who is 'Meg'?” Dean asked. He felt a little bit scandalized; if something was as important as this sounded, he thought he probably should've heard about it before now. He felt a little bit like Cas had been keeping secrets from him, and he knew from previous experience how well secrets went.

 

“Listen. He wasn't... Trying to be a jerk. Balthazar has been my close friend for awhile now.” Cas has transitioned from standing awkwardly to sitting on the table, eyes on the ground. Dean wished that for once, he would look at him while he was talking. “Yes, we slept together. We were drunk as hell and it was college. That was after I'd lost Meg, and I really didn't know how to cope.

 

“I- I knew she wasn't good for me. She was sweet and seductive and seemed kind at the time. She was very beautiful, and I fell for that. She disappeared, though. She left and I was heartbroken. I probably should have known that she would at some point, but I was too naïve to realize that her intentions were never to actually stay with me. I should have been smarter about it, and I wasn't.

 

“Balthazar and I have been talking. I actually wanted to tell you about Meg for awhile now. I couldn't find a window to sneak the information in, so he decided to create one himself. I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to tell you on my own. That's why I haven't let myself really be with anyone, in a long time. I've been scared of a repeat offense. Really, I should have warned you. I'm broken and damaged and I understand if you don't want that in your life- Especially since I was too much of a coward to-”

 

Cas is finally cut off by Dean's lips pressing heatedly into his, in a borrowed move. A move Cas himself had pulled on Dean, many times.

 

“You're not a coward. I can tell that this is something that really hurt you. I want you to know, though- I'll be there for you no matter what. I'm not like she was, Cas.” Dean says, his breath warm as it ghosts over Cas's lips. Cas is still panting, the intensity of Dean's eyes as their foreheads rest together not helping him to de-accelerate his heart beat.

 

“I know. I knew from the moment you kept showing up. Not very many people stick around once they get to know me. I make an excellent leader, not so much a good friend.” Cas said, chuckling a little. He still sounded the vaguest tones of bitterness in his voice, and Dean felt his heart squeeze.

 

“You're a great friend! I mean, the Guild loves you, Sam loves you, that Balthazar guy loves you- Just because some asshole named Meg up and left years ago doesn't change that. You can't let her hurt you that way.” Dean said, intensely. He knew how it felt, to have somebody push you around, take advantage of you... He knew that the scars could stick an entire lifetime. He couldn't let Cas be weighed down by it any more. “Okay?”

 

Cas vaguely nodded his head, lips pursing. His eyes were glazed over as he looked at Dean, and he found his hands slowly moving from the table to Dean's hips. Once they were firmly situated there, they began to slowly pull Dean close, lips ghosting over his as their torsos met in the middle. One of Dean's hands went to the small of Cas's back while the other one rested on his thigh, making Cas's breath hitch. They were so close to kissing-so close, with challenge in their eyes. This was a contest to see who breaks first.

 

Dean's hand inched just a little higher on Cas's thigh.

 

Suddenly, Dean's head turned sharply at the fluttering sound of the tent cloth. It had been pulled apart so that Balthazar could stick his head in, looking like a judgemental prick as always.

 

“Cassie, no offense, but now's really not the time to get laid. The battle is in thirty minutes, yes?” He asked. Castiel gave a deep sigh before he nodded his head and Balthazar disappeared.

 

“Well, I guess we probably should get out of here.” Dean said, dejectedly. Cas nodded and hopped off the table, walking towards the door. Dean followed closely behind, confused when Cas stopped again. An arm firmly grabbed his hand and pulled him down, so that Cas's lips were level with him ear.

 

“Later tonight, I'm going to ride your dick like it's the last safety boat on a sinking ship.” Cas purred. Dean was left standing and staring as Cas released him and walked out of the room, looking entirely unfazed.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

After the battle had finally cooled down, and Dean was finally killed by an opposing team member, they all sat in a line on the grass. Sweat stuck to their skin and they stretched their sore muscles, several of them guzzling down water like it was their only hope. They were laughing and smiling, teasing around with each other as they came down from the high of battle.

 

“I'm exhausted.” Dean declares. There's a small thump as Castiel sits down beside him, his armour clinking. Somehow, despite Dean's extensive fighting training, Cas had lasted longer than him.

 

“I hope you're ready to be exhausted a lot more often. In January Charlie and I get crowned, and that means we'll be attending large amounts of the events all over the country. I hope it isn't presumptuous of me to assume that you'll be attending, too.” Cas declares, taking off his helmet.

 

“Dude, I was born ready. Do you know how sexy you look in that armour?” Dean teases. Cas shrugs, pretending yet again to be unaffected. “Besides, we're gonna road trip everywhere together, remember? If some of it is taken by the SCA then who the hell cares? I can still show you the highlights of the town.”

 

Cas pauses, scanning his mind for the vague memory. Once he finally finds it, he lets out a small and warm smile. Dean had discussed travel with him, back when he didn't even know they lived in the same apartment. Cas was glad that the whole thing had been sorted out, and he was glad to see that Dean was so willing to actually go through on what they had agreed on. Cas had been dreaming about a trip like that since he was young.

 

“That sounds wonderful.” He says, smiling at Dean. Somebody in the guild clears their throat and they tear their eyes away from one another, remembering again that they weren't actually alone, and they had to behave in public.

 

“I think we should go home now.” Dean says. Because he's sick and tired of having to keep his hands off of Castiel at this point, and a nice, slow love-making session would do both of them some good right now. In the month it's been since their first time, they've been more and more frequently slowing down, making love slow and easy and gentle. And Cas or Dean always stayed afterwards, sometimes the big spoon and sometimes the little spoon. Somehow, things worked between them like that.

 

“I agree with the notion.” Castiel says flatly. They both stand and wave their friends goodbye, walking back to Dean's car and climbing in. The ride home is a little longer than they originally thought, traffic being even more of a bitch than usual.

 

By the end of it, they're both too damn tired to do much that night. They're sweaty and smell like too much deodorant (because they had to use too much deodorant) so they hop into the shower. About half of it is actually washing away the layers of seat and grime, and the other half is Dean sloppily kissing along Cas's neck as he pins both of them up against the wall, hand around their aching cocks slowly stroking both of them to completion. As Cas cums with a soft gasp of his name, Dean groans and lets himself go, too.

 

All Dean can think as they relax into bed together is that he'll be looking forward to more days like this. Friends and fighting and adrenaline and lazily getting off before collapsing into bed together. Yeah, he likes the idea a lot.

 

And, of course, Dean wakes up in the morning with Cas's mouth wrapped around his morning wood, head bobbing up and down like he tasted as good as a lollipop. Yesterday's promise of riding him did not go unfulfilled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE leave a review or Kudos!


	19. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there guys! I'm going to put a link to the tumblr post I made where you can vote on my next story at the end of the chapter. Please go and vote if you intend to read my next story; your opinion matters to me!   
> This chapter is pretty darn fast, but I figure I owe it to you guys since the last couple of updates were sort of slow.

It was all a bit overdone for Dean.

 

Not that he could complain; it wasn't his decision, and his brother looked pleased with it. Then again, his brother also looked absolutely scared out of his wits as Dean pulled him into his dressing room, shoving a tux into his hands. Sam was shaking.

 

“Dude, you've got to calm down.” Dean says. His eyes scan the small room until he finally sees something that will help; alcohol. He saunters over to the small end table with the bottle sitting next to two cups, and pours a little bit into both. Honestly, with the tolerance they had built to alcohol over the years, they could probably drink the whole bottle before they even started to get _buzzed,_ but he figures anything more than this isn't a good idea for the big day.

 

He walked over and holds a hand out, and Sam's eyes flicker to the drink. He looked like he was debating it for a few moments before he cracked and took the offering, downing everything Dean had poured in one quick swig. Dean followed in his footsteps, downing his own before plopping down in one of the two chairs available to the small room. Sam begins to pace, tux still slung over one of his arms.

 

“I know, I know, I really shouldn't be this worried. I mean, it's Jess, and this is what I've wanted for a long time-”

 

“Jess is a hell of a lot better than Ruby,” Dean put in, just because he really fucking hated Sam's ex girlfriend. “Or your ex boyfriend the devil.”

 

Sam glared at him briefly for interrupting, but decided that he would just keep up the monologue anyways. “So it's really stupid of me to be nervous, but... Dean, I'm sort of scared. This is pretty darn permanent, and after this it won't be easy to get along. We're out of the honeymoon phase in our relationship. I just- I don't want her to end up regretting this later. I don't want to end up regretting this later.”

 

Sam finishes by slumping into the other chair, right next to Dean. As much as Dean freaking hates chick-flick moments, he feels like right now, one is necessary. Because his brother has come an awful long way in the last couple of years, and most of it he credits to having a good girl like Jess to tell him that it's okay he's not perfect. Dean knows more than anything else that Sam is ready for this- Ready to finally make a change for the better.

 

“Sammy.” He says. He stands and turns to face his little brother before he crouches down, so he can look him in the eyes. “I want you to know something. Ever since you brought Jess home I've known that she was the one for you. I mean, when you look at her, you go full-on puppy eyes. It's kind of pathetic.” Sam is smiling a little now, and the shaking has almost stopped. Dean received a playful hit in the arm, which he ignored. “You need someone like her, man. You worry that this isn't the right thing to do, but that's only because for once, you're doing something that's good for you. You deserve this. You deserve Jess. You love her.”

 

Sam takes a deep breath and nods his head, eyes filling with affection for his brother. Dean stands up and offers Sam a hand, which his brother takes and uses to pull himself up. He pushes him behind a small, fan-like piece of wood and paper intended to give Sam privacy while he changes. Dean thinks it might be the funniest thing he's ever seen because Sam's entire face sticks out over it; it was clearly intended for somebody who was not a moose.

 

While Sam is changing, Dean thinks about his own words-- Sam loved Jess. He'd been thinking more and more that he might-- just might-- be in love with Cas. And maybe his own words applied to him- Maybe he needed something that was good for him. Maybe Cas was good for him.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jess is gorgeous as she slowly walks down the aisle. Dean sees from his position as the best man that Sam's eyes are tearing up. He feels overwhelmingly happy for his little brother.

 

He feels a small nudge at his side as Cas momentarily brushes against him- They decided that he could be up front with Dean, sort of as a second-best man. Cas and Sam had grown exceedingly close in the last few months, their relationship blooming quickly into a strong bond of mutual friendship that Dean tried his hardest to understand. Cas just seemed to fit well in their group.

 

Dean looks up, at the various snowflakes hanging from the ceiling reflecting a million tiny rainbows across the all-white room. Fake snow was everywhere; it really was a winter wonderland wedding. Heh, try saying that five times fast. Dean tore his eyes away just in time to see Jess walking up the alter, and the first few tears trickle feebly down Sam's face.

 

Their vows were short, but heartfelt and self-written. Dean thought that he'd never seen Sam as happy as when he scooped Jess into his bear-sized arms and gave her a long, meaningful kiss. He might just vomit from how hideously sweet it all is.

 

As they run down the aisle, Dean and the others start to disperse. A couple of people throw hand fulls of rice at them as they run by, and Dean grabs Cas and pulls him out the side door of the church so they can avoid the onslaught. They laugh as they run out to the front, Dean practically shoving Cas into the limo that waited to take them to the park.

 

They had decided to do wedding pictures the day of.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The park was covered in a white blanket of snow, so beautiful and pristine Dean almost hated to soil it by stepping in it. What had to be done had to be done, though, and he trudged through the four inches like he would any other day.

 

The first few pictures were just sickeningly sweet shots of Sam and Jess, kissing under a tree or Sam holding her bridal style. After that, they slowly started pulling in other people; Dean and the maid of honour, and then slowly adding more and more from there. Eventually, the picture had ten people in it, and then it was time to start getting just a little more creative- Dean was freezing by this time, mind you.

 

They had everyone pair up- Dean had immediately gone to the maid of honour, knowing that was how it was supposed to be, but Sam quickly paired up the maid of honour with another bride's maid, and told Dean he wanted him to stand by Cas.

 

After that picture was taken, things started to go downhill. Dean's not sure who did it, or how they got up the balls to, but a snowball flew through the air. Sam flinched as it hit the back of his head, and he turned, slowly and menacingly, towards the direction it came from. As his back was turned, Jess gathered up a huge ball of cold, wet snow and shoved it down the back of Sam's shirt, causing his body to contort in ways Dean hadn't realized possible. While he was doubled over laughing, he felt a snowball hit him, and straightened up.

 

He looked immediately over to see Cas smirking, looking too cocky for his own dang good. Dean let out a low growl as he stooped to the ground, hands digging into the white fluff to gather it into a ball. He wished he had gloves, but forced himself to ignore the sting as he patted the substance.

 

As he was preparing it, Cas ducked behind a tree. Dean rushed and curved himself behind it, but Cas had vanished into thin air. He spent about ten seconds being thoroughly confused before a _massive chunk of ice_ was shoved down his shirt, and he was doing a pretty darn close impression of Sam earlier. Cas was laughing, and backing away from him.

 

_Son of a bitch went around the tree same time as I did._ Dean thought, un-tucking his shirt so he could finally shake out the cold snow. He slowly stalked forward and Cas stayed where he was, waiting for Dean to crouch down and make a snow ball.

 

“You're gonna pay for that.” Dean promised. Castiel's grin faded as Dean stepped a little bit closer, wondering why he hadn't made the snowball yet. Cas was hit upside the head with one from somebody else, causing him to immediately look towards the direction it had come from. This gave Dean the perfect chance.

 

He lunged forward, grabbing Castiel's wrists as they both landed against the ground in a hard thud. Dean had the advantage of surprise and managed to get Cas entirely pinned against the cold snow for about five whole seconds, before he found himself being pushed into the snow himself. Cas's hands escaped his grip and mimicked it on his own wrists, pinning them above Dean's head. Dean thought it vaguely reminiscent of how things went in the bedroom the night before.

 

He feels himself heat up as Cas leans down, his body sliding seductively against his partner's. One of his hands moves to hold both of Dean's wrists, and Dean is jerked back to the reality of what's happening.

 

He started to buck and squirm, but to no avail. He cried out as a huge handfull of snow was pressed to his neck, getting into the small gap between skin and fabric. He squirmed for a long time, yelling and squeaking (in a totally manly way) as he tried to throw Cas off. The cold burned a little and he started to feel a little bit of the snow soak through his jacket and paint his skin with cold water. He finally relaxed as Cas's hand pulled away, giving up trying to get loose. Or, at least, that's what Cas thought.

 

As soon as Cas let his guard down he flipped their positions again, wrestling briefly as he struggled to regain control. He finally pinned the other to the ground and paused. He knew that if he tried to attack with snow, Cas would be panicked enough to gain the advantage in strength again. So, he only saw one other option. Luckily, it was just as appealing as the first.

 

Dean leaned down to slowly and carefully brush his lips across Cas's, light and teasing touches. He felt warm breath ghost over his lips and Cas's head leaned up, eager. Dean chuckled and finally gave in, pressing his lips fully against his partner's. The warmth soon spread all through his body as he melted into the kiss, lips parting as his tongue slipped out to trace Castiel's mouth.

 

It opened for Dean and their tongues mingled like it was the first time. Dean's hands slipped from Cas's wrists, and he propped himself up on his elbows. Cas's hands soon enough tangled in Dean's hair, pulling him closer. Dean vaguely registered the clicking of the camera through the chaos, and he suddenly knows for a fact he wants a copy of this one-- everyone else in chaos and happiness around them and Dean and Cas, clinging to each other in the midst. Their own little paradise.

 

Dean pulls away reluctantly. Unfortunately, he does still have to breathe.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The reception is where it's really at, though.

 

The hall is grand and spacious, marble floors and chandeliers hung with Christmas tinsel. There are several pine trees put up against the walls, some dusted with fake snow and others with ornaments hanging from every limb. There's mistletoe hung in several doorways, and the large cake Sam and Jess picked out has iced snow flakes. Everything about it reminds Dean that it's Christmas eve.

 

The music is mainly Christmas-themed. Other than the first, which is Sam and Jess's song, and they dance beautifully. Dinner is divine, and Dean doesn't think he'll ever forget the toast Sam made.

 

He stood, clinking his fork on his wine glass. Everyone turned towards him, the chatter dying down as they all realized the groom had something to say.

 

“I would like to thank everyone for coming. But, I have something even more important to say.” He said. There was a quiet murmer and Sam waited until it died down again. He looked down at Jessica, devotion clear in his eyes. “Thank you, for saying yes. Not just tonight. No, you've said yes so many more times than that- yes to being my girlfriend, yes to moving in, yes to the thought of spending the rest of your life with me is just one in the many. I feel like everything in my life has been leading up to this moment- the fact that I know I'm going to spend it all with you. Thank you.” He said, emotionally. “So, a toast, to Jess. My beautiful wife.”

 

Glasses clincked and conversation resumed, Sam and Jess giving each other meaningful stares. Dean wonders briefly if he ever looks that in love when he looks at Cas. He decides that the answer is probably yes, and stopped dwelling on it.

 

Dean's never really been one for dancing. He's never been formal. However, when Cas offered him a hand to _White Christmas_ playing softly from the speakers, his heart jumped into his throat. He couldn't say no; in fact, he couldn't say anything. He just slipped his hand into Cas's warm, comforting one and allowed himself to be pulled up and swept off to a little corner, where they would actually have a little bit of privacy.

 

Cas pulled him close and began to awkwardly sway. He clearly looked like he didn't know what he was doing, exactly, but Dean wasn't much better off. Their dance was fumbled through, and Dean's surprised he even made it. He thought about calling it off and going back to sit down about halfway through, but the feeling of Cas pressed up against his chest somehow made it worth it.

 

Cas pulled away a little, as the song slowly ended. Dean watched his eyes as they flickered to Dean's lips briefly, and his tongue darted out to lick his own. That was enough of a sign for Dean, who eagerly pressed their lips together. Cas's hands slid into his jacket this time, grabbing at his shirt and pulling him closer. Dean thought yet again about how much Cas meant to him; how he couldn't imagine life without this anymore.

 

So, later in the evening, he scouted out the place. Cas was busy talking to some random dude from Sam's college, so he could do so without being seen. He walked out of the main room, seeing a grand staircase and a sign warning that he shouldn't go up it. He decided to disregard the sign and swept back into the room, eyes hunting for his lover.

 

Finally, he spotted Cas. He walked back over to him and grabbed his arm, slowly tugging him away from his conversational partner. It was only after Cas had been moved back an entire foot that he turned, looking at Dean curiously with that fucking adorable head-tilt thing he does.

 

“Sorry, I need to speak with him for a moment.” Dean addressed the man Cas had been talking to. He cut off his story (Dean assumed Cas hadn't done much talking in the conversation; he hadn't even noticed when Dean had first started to pull Cas away and Cas preferred to listen anyways) and nodded in acknowledgment, simply turning and going to search for someone else.

 

Dean pulls Cas's arm insistently, and Cas finally unfreezes, following him. Dean walked them through the crowd, dodging dancers and merrymakers, the smell of egg nog and ginger bread swirling through the air. He finally made it to the corridor and pushed Cas out of the room, following behind.

 

“Dean, what are you doing?” Cas finally asked. Dean smiled and shook his head, grabbing Castiel's hand and pulling him toward the grand staircase. The sound of their steps echoed as their feet hit the floor, the party seeming a million miles away in this place. Dean unlatched the velvet rope with the “DO NOT ENTER” sign on it and waved Castiel through. Castiel paused, eyes flickering to the sign. Dean almost thought he was going to try and talk him out of it, but Cas gave a deep sigh and said, “Why do I let you drag me into things like this?”

 

“Come on, nothing will happen.” Dean teased him, as he stepped across the invisible line between where they were allowed to be and where they were not. Dean followed him and put back the rope, leaving no signs that the property had been altered. He grabbed Cas's hand again and trudged up the stairs, finding the eery quiet to be a little bit calming. If they were going to get caught, they would hear it way before it happened.

 

He pulled him a little faster, deciding on a whim to go right once they reached the top. As he turned, he spotted a glass door at the end of the hall, leading out to a small balcony, where the snow was still soft and fresh. He pushed through the curtains and pulled the door open, stopping to let Cas out first like the gentleman he was.

 

He stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing next to Cas, eyes drifting to the sky. He scanned the stars, thinking that they were just a little bit brighter that night than they usually were. He was about to make the comment to Cas when he felt a warm hand wrap around his own and he looked over into eyes full of affection. Emotions rose up like a tidal wave and almost choked him even as the crisp air filled his lungs.

 

He thought about how much he and Cas had come through. Damn, it was a lot. They had been gaming partners to friends to partners to even more; Dean dared venture to call them soul mates. Everything with them had just seemed to click nicely into place, like a puzzle piece finally coming to rest in it's own home. He felt his mouth go dry as he gathered up all of his courage, courage to say what had been on his mind for some time now.

 

“I love you.” He choked out, quietly. Cas smiled.

 

“I know.” He responded back, and Dean would be damned if he wasn't glad in that moment that he'd shown Cas Star Wars. Because he was about to have a nerdgasm and Cas just looked so smug for the moment after that Dean almost forgot to be disappointed that he didn't say it back until he did. “And I love you, too.”

 

“Cas,” Dean said slowly. He was about to suggest something he'd never done with anyone before. It seemed a little fast to him, too, with them having only just known each other for six months, but still. He knew that it was the right thing to do. “How would you feel about moving in with me?”

 

“I think I would enjoy that. We should start tomorrow.” Cas said, smiling just the smallest bit. Dean felt his heart being stolen for what felt like the thousandth time.

 

“You know, that's a great idea. And to celebrate, we're going on a road trip. I have the twenty sixth through the thirtieth off. How about we drive as far as we can go, in whatever direction we want, before we have to start going to your SCA crap?” Dean propositions. Cas nods his head.

 

“I'm up for it if you are.” He provides. “Though I'm afraid I make terrible driving company on long trips.”

 

“As long as you don't complain about my music, it'll be fine.” Dean assured, clapping Cas on the shoulder. They both turned to go back inside, feet crunching against the snow again as they walk along towards the door. They both pause underneath it, Dean looking up. Cas followed his eyes, and he smiled just a little wider as he realized what was dangling above them.

 

Dean kisses him with all of the passion and want and emotion of their first kiss- the same wonder and shock and awe going through him. Cas's hands are just as eager as they run through his hair, and his leg is hot as it hikes up to grip his hip. He lets out a small moan, hands eagerly grabbing at any part of Cas he can touch.

 

They pull away again, and Dean feels like he's never going to get used to this.

 

He pulled Cas out of their own private corner and back to the party, warm and fuzzy and deciding he needed to do at least eight shots before he could prove himself manly again after all that affection.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://mysticmoonhigh.tumblr.com/post/94144012911/okay-so-i-really-need-to-know-which-fanfic-to-do
> 
> ^^ for the fanfic thing.
> 
> Please leave a review or kudos! This fic is drawing to an end!


	20. Road Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Talking about Dean's abusive childhood. So yeah. 
> 
> Also, one more chapter after this; it's drawing to a close. I made a graphic for it. Tonight I'll be posting a picture I drew of maleficent!Dean on my tumblr account, as that's the next story I'll be doing.

Cas's things had just been all, officially, moved to Dean's room. They had made plans to sell some of the things that they wouldn't need two of, (Dean's brown couch was replaced with Cas's much more comfortable blue one, Cas decided to start sharing a bed with Dean) and all of the things that weren't required were in Cas's room until the end of the month.

 

Dean patted Cas's head, pulled him close and gave him a small peck. “Are you ready to go?” He mumbled against his lips.

 

“I'd be ready if you weren't so busy distracting me.” Cas snapped back playfully, pushing Dean away. He turned and glared warily at his half-full suit case, grabbing some of his clothes randomly and throwing them in. He stopped and made sure he had socks and underwear before zipping up the suit case and figuring he probably had everything else.

 

He turned towards Dean, who snickered. “Now, I'm ready.”

 

“Okay, if you say so. But we're _so_ not getting halfway there and finding out you forgot enough shirts or something. You're gonna have to deal.” He warned. Cas rolled his eyes and picked up his suit case, pushing past Dean to walk briskly down the hall and to the elevator. “Wait up!”

 

Dean had to grab his suitcase and practically run to catch up with Cas in time. He slipped into the elevator just as the doors began to close, his suitcase getting stuck behind him. Since these doors were old as hell and Chuck is a pretty crappy maintenance guy, instead of reopening, they just stayed still. Dean had to give a mighty pull to get it to come out of the doors. Once it finally did, he found it a little hard to keep his balance.

 

And by that, I mean he tripped over his own two feet like the suave motherfucker he is and would have landed straight on his ass if Cas hadn't been quick enough to catch him.

 

Cas's hands flew out from where he stood and wrapped around Dean, pulling him close. Dean had closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact, but they opened once he realized that his ass had yet to hit the floor. He looked up into Cas's crystal blue eyes and found himself absolutely dumbfounded. His hands uselessly dangled as he tried to make sense of the situation, Cas's arms still awkwardly wrapped around him and his body suspended in midair. He looked down at the ground and back up at Cas again as the pieces finally started to click together.

 

A small 'ding' was heard as the elevator opened. Both of them turned, slightly startled, (and undoubtably wide-eyed) towards the door. Chuck was standing there, his toolbox clutched tightly in hand. He looked them over.

 

Cas dropped Dean then, letting his body slip to the floor. He looked like a little kid who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Dean's ass hit the ground hard and he let out a breath of air, barely managing not to fall the rest of the way onto his back. His eyes never left Chuck's, waiting for some kind of a reaction. Finally, after a good ten seconds of tense staring, he got sick of it and muttered out a gruff, “Hey.”

 

Chuck started laughing. He laughed so hard he was clutching his sides, leaning up against the elevator, practically wiping tears from his eyes. Dean eventually got sick of it and stood up, grabbing his suitcase and pushing past the man, (still clutching his stomach, doubled over in laughter) and walked moodily through the lobby, waving the old woman behind the counter goodbye.

 

As soon as he was outside, he heard the door open again. Cas fell into step beside him. “You have to admit that it was kind of funny.”

 

Dean smiled just a little, the corners of his mouth pulling up. Yeah, he knew it had to have been.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dean just started driving. Cas said he didn't honestly have any preferences as to where to go, so Dean decided that he would pick the place. Dean not even realizing where he wanted to go until he was already halfway there.

 

They pulled over in Ohio for the nigh-- The entire day, Dean had taken it upon himself to make sure Cas had officially heard every song the Black Eyed Peas had ever played-- and Cas was absolutely exhausted. The ride had been peaceful and nice, it was still hard on somebody who didn't usually travel to take such a long journey all in a day. Dean knew they still had seven hours of driving to do tomorrow, and mentally planned out a route that would take them to the best places in between.

 

The motel was checked into, one Dean remembered to have soft beds and a fairly small amount of questionable stains on the wall. They walked in and both of them groaned, throwing their suitcases onto the floor and collapsing into bed, fully clothed. It was almost instant when they fell asleep.

 

Dean woke up first in the morning, noticing that he and Cas had somehow drifted closer in the night. He shifted his weight, eyes opening wide as he felt something pressing against the small of his back. He scooted away, turning back to confirm his suspicions.

 

Cas mumbled in his sleep, an erection straining against his jeans. Dean smiled as a plan came to him, and he slowly got out of bed, as not to frighten Cas. He began to strip himself of his clothing, jacket then flannel then shirt then undershirt, (don't ask me how he wears so many fucking layers) before he was _finally_ down to skin. He then made quick work of his pants, slipping them off and leaving him only in his underwear. He slowly began to crawl back onto the bed, not caring this time whether or not Cas woke up.

 

He finally reached his goal and put a firm hand on Cas's erection, causing his partner to stir. Cas mumbled something again and shifted, giving Dean easier access. Dean unbuttoned his pants and slipped them carefully and slowly down his hips, until at last his member sprang free. Cas seemed to shiver at the sudden cold, but other than that had no reaction to what was happening.

 

Dean leaned forward and slowly wrapped his mouth around the head of Cas's cock, running his tongue along the slit. Cas took a quick intake of breath and Dean repeated the tongue motion, rewarded with a breathy moan of his own name. A small burst of pride went through him at the thought, _Cas is literally dreaming about me, he could dream about anybody else in the world but me, I'm not worth this._

 

_He means so much to me._

 

Cas woke then, slowly and grogily, head lolling down to see what had happened. He slowly put together the puzzle pieces before simply giving a shallow thrust, begging Dean to take him deeper. Dean slowly did as was asked, sinking down as far as he could, relaxing his throat. What he couldn't get in, he began to lightly stroke with his hand, keeping Cas warm and satisfied. Cas let out another small, breathy moan, hands moving from his sides to run through Dean's hair. 

 

Dean leaned into the gentle touch, always loving the affection. His eyes closed and he let out a pleased hum. A small thump was heard as Cas's head fell back and hit the wall. 

 

“Well, good morning to you, too.” He said gruffly. Dean let out another soft hum, slowly beginning to bob his head up and down. Cas let out another small sound of gratitude, his muscles tensing. He was too tired and it was too early to try and hold out for very long, especially when he had already been hard for half the night. 

 

Dean continued to bob his head, licking up the veins and humming whenever the tip hit his throat. It wasn't long until Cas was cumming down his throat, letting out a groan as he did. As soon as Dean was finished, certain he had swallowed every drop given to him, he crawled back up the bed. He fell beside Cas, body sinking into the covers. Cas put an arm around him.

 

“Were you having good dreams?” He mumbled, nuzzling into Cas's neck. “Sorry to interrupt.”

 

“Believe me, I'm glad that you did.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

They ate breakfast at a small, hole in the wall place about five miles down the road. It was small and cramped but had amazing food and good service. Shortly after that, they were on the road again. 

 

The drive seemed to go a little faster this time, as if the feeling of tires on road yesterday had somehow made the feeling a little less demanding today. As they got further and further south, the weather got warmer and warmer, to the point where by the end of it, Dean had shed his jacket. Thank god, now he was only wearing three layers. 

 

He pulled over at a Krystals for lunch, because they actually know what fucking mustard is and he was ashamed that they didn't have any up north, and he made a quick stop at a candle emporium, because he knew Cas would like it and it was a fun place to visit. They walked back to the cary carrying a bag with four large “Spiced Honey” candles. 

 

Of course, Cas didn't notice until later that there was actually a fifth candle in the bag. They'd had to stay an extra ten minutes (and fuck if it wasn't annoying as hell to try and actually keep Cas occupied for that much longer when he was determined to leave) but before they went, Dean grabbed a custom candle. It said simply, “Dean&Cas” and smelled of mint, spiced honey, leather and whiskey. 

 

Cas had lit it that night while he slowly and deliberately placed sloppy, wet kisses along every inch of Dean's body.

 

But, of course, that wasn't the only thing they did that day. No, Dean drove Cas up to Cade's Cove, a large creek that was virtually filled with tourists this time of year.

 

They jumped across rocks and listened to the bable of children as they tried to find their way across the stream. The water made a beautiful sound as it cascaded through the hills, reminding Dean of early summer mornings and late summer nights. 

 

As he looked over at Cas, he couldn't help but think that his Summer Nights next year were going to be significantly more interesting.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The last day before they had to start heading home, they drove through the mountains.

 

The lightest dusting of snow covered the green glaze, making everything seem frosted and surreal. Dean looked around at the trees, crooked and missing their leaves, and he rolled down his window to smell the crisp winter air. He let out a long breath, letting it flow through his hair. If it bothered Cas, he didn't complain.

 

It wasn't too long before they were in Cherokee territory, North Carolina. 

 

There was a small bookstore here, that Dean remembered well. He had been young, around the age of eleven or twelve. His little brother had gone crazy for all of the books on Mythology and local history and the Cherokee ways. Their dad had left for about a week doing god knows what, and left Dean enough money for the motel and food. However, three days into it, Dean realized that John had left a $20.00 bill that shouldn't have been there. 

 

Dean snuck down to the local store and bought an extra loaf of bread, hamburger buns. The next morning, he woke Sammy early and took him out to throw bread to the ducks along the river. Sammy had squealed in delight as they came closer and closer, under Dean's ever watchful eyes. 

 

When he'd handed Sam the other fifteen dollars in the book store, making him swear not to tell dad, Sam's eyes had lighten up. He'd smiled larger than Dean had ever seen and his eyes had shown as he ran through the aisles, looking for the one that he wanted.

 

Dean turned away. He walked around, let Sammy do his thing. When Sammy came back, he was holding something roughly the size of his hand and a five dollar bill. He shoved the thing into Dean's hands and looked bashful, as though he was afraid of being yelled at because he hadn't done what was asked of him. Instead of getting a book, he'd gotten a present for Dean.

 

“I noticed you've been having bad dreams lately.” Sam said, pointing to the package. “It's supposed to make your dreams better. Bad dreams get caught in the web, and when the sun comes up they die.” 

 

Dean had been having nightmares. Even when John wasn't there, the dreams of being smacked across the face, dodging another beer bottle, were very real. He'd wake up in the night in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, sheets a wreck from thrashing everywhere. He'd done his best to keep it from Sammy, but, of course his brother would know. He always seemed to know. 

 

“Sammy, you're too much for your own good.” He said, simply. Sammy smiled at him. 

 

Dean still had the dream catcher, it was in his suit case right then, still protecting him from the bad dreams. Sammy had been the only good in his life, for the longest time. And, as he and Cas walked along the banks, he confessed this. He finally told somebody about his fucked up childhood. 

 

Cas didn't offer false sympathy, just listened. His silence spoke louder than a thousand words, though. He understood why Dean was so protective of Sam, understood why he would never let anyone hit him without hitting back. Because really, Dean had learned from a young age that if you don't fight back, it doesn't stop. And it didn't stop. Not until he was fourteen and finally got the courage to throw a punch. 

 

Of course, John never actually punched him. Just smacked him across the mouth, or grabbed his arms a little too rough, or got angry and threw a bottle. It was, however, not a better situation. The fear, the nausia, the thoughts that it might and could get worse at any time still plagued him. When he had fought back, that had been when John finally realized that Dean wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. 

 

Cas had retaliated with his own small stories of childhood; Apparently, his parents had found out that he was asexual and tried to have him exorcised by a priest. They eventually came around, but it had been a tough couple of years for him. He never knew when his water would actually turn out to be holy water, trying to “push the demons out”. He softly remarked that Dean wouldn't have deserved one harsh word from a man like John, who, he pointed out, shoved the responsibility of raising Sam on Dean.

 

“You raised a good man, though, Dean.” Cas said, giving a small smile. Dean smiled back in return. For some reason, everything just seemed a little bit lighter. It was nice to have somebody to talk to about it. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The drive back home was long and dull. Through the day they would drive and talk and look at the scenery as it passed by the windows, at night, Cas pulled out his laptop and wrote up game reviews. Dean had tried unsuccessfully to get him to let Dean suck him off while he typed, but he kept up some crap about delivering quality and how “distraction wouldn't benefit him at the moment” until he finally gave up, collapsing into bed and closing his eyes, letting his mind wander. 

 

Of course, after Cas was done and Dean had faded off to sleep, he woke up to a nice surprise.

 

Cas was in between his legs, slowly beginning to lick the first of many stripes up his now straining erection. Dean let out a small, choked sound, looking down at Cas and letting his hips give a small thrust. Cas understood the message, but he decided to ignore it. 

 

“Cas, please.” Dean asked. Cas swung a hand over Dean's hips to keep him from bucking up, maintaining control over the situation. Dean let out a whimper as Cas's tongue was taken off of his underside, and Cas looked up lazily, as if he had all the time in the world.

 

“I'm repaying the favour from the other day, Dean. I'll do this my way.” He said, continuing. His tongue curved and wrapped around Dean's cock, sending shivers up and down his lover's body. Dean felt himself slowly and carefully coming undone, unraveled. He tried his hardest to relax into the bed, tried to stop the small moans and mewls that escaped, biting his lip.

 

Cas continued leaving sloppy, wet licks and kisses all along Dean's cock, hands rubbing soothing circles into Dean's thighs as he moved the hand slung over Dean's hips and forced them apart, using that to get a better angle. He ran his tongue flat along Dean's head, before sinking down and placing soft, wet kisses across Dean's lower abdomen. Dean's cock was curved proudly, standing red, veins bulging as he fought not to sound just so fucking  _pleading._ Every sound he was making only served to make him sound more and more undone. 

 

Finally, like a gift from the heavens, Cas's mouth slowly began to take his cock. Cas moved down slowly, so slowly, Dean felt like he would never get to the bottom. Dean clutched the bedsheets as he did, hips fighting his mind to cant upwards. His whole body was shaking in pleasure now, from the effort it was taking him to hold back. He wasn't about to cum from practically just licks and teasing touches. He wasn't a fucking teenager, and he could prove it. 

 

But Cas let out a little hum, the vibrations going straight to Dean's cock, and he couldn't help it any longer. He let out a loud moan as he came, his orgasm seeming to go on forever as his body twitched and moved, riding out the massive dose of endorphins and pleasure. When it was finally over he let his whole body go limp, his dick slowly going soft in Cas's mouth. He let out another embarrassing whimper as Cas pulled off, leaving him cold.

 

“How was that?” Cas asked, genuinely curious. Dean let out a shaky laugh. Even after all this time, Cas still felt like he had to make sure it was adequate. And no matter how many times Dean said yes, he always still asked to make sure afterwards. 

 

“Amazing, Cas.” He admits. Cas nods and falls into bed beside him. Dean thinks that of all the people who had ever been happy in their life, spending the rest of his with Cas just might make him the happiest. 

 

He decided that they should go on road trips more often.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

They arrived back at their predetermined destination at four o'clock on January first. Dean hadn't even realized the night before that he'd rung in the new year with Cas's lips around his cock, but he couldn't honestly complain. 

 

Chuck waved at them from beside the elevator, his suit greasy. “Hey guys. How'd the weekend go?” He asked, conversationally. Dean narrowed his eyes; he'd laughed just a little too hard at them the last time they were there to entirely write it off. 

 

“Pleasurable, thank you for asking.” Castiel said, smiling. Dean felt a warmth go through his chest at Cas's obvious pleased expression. 

 

“Good, good.” Chuck mumbled. Dean knew something was coming, and he braced himself for it. “Have you two considered taking Salsa classes, by the way?”

 

Cas tilted his head in confusion. Dean was already looking away with a blank expression, miffed. 

 

“Because you've already got the dip down, if you guys wanted to.” Chuck teased, nodding. Cas flashed back to the elevator before they had left, and he opened his mouth as if to retaliate. Dean put up a finger, silencing him.

 

“Don't, Cas. He's not worth it.” He teased. Really though, Dean could admit that it was kind of funny. Just a little bit. It probably would have been hilarious if it had happened to literally anyone other than him. 

 

“Come on guys, I was just joking!” Chuck said, smiling at them. Castiel smiled back, so Dean didn't have to. He simply stepped onto the elevator, tugging his suitcase in behind him. 

 

The doors shut, leaving just him and Cas. Just the way he liked it. He turned to his partner, a small smirk on his face. “So, seriously, how would you feel about salsa classes?”

 

“I don't-” Cas starts, confused. He cuts off, realization dawning. “That was also a joke.” He says. Dean laughed, throwing his head back and letting loose. Cas continued to look blank, and the elevator let out a ding as they approached their floor. “Next time we see your brother, I'm telling him that story now.”

 

Cas walked out of the elevator too soon to see Dean's look of absolute mortification. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> review or kudos?


	21. Cards Against Dean Keeping A Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of you. Thank you for your patience, thank you for taking the time to support and inspire me so much. Thank you for reading this little, humble fic from my corner of the internet. This got more support than I ever could have hoped for, as my first full-length destiel on this site, AND a WIP to boot. I couldn't have done it without you, guys. Thank you.
> 
> EDIT: Also, I made a tumblr post/graphic supporting this fanfic. So if you have a tumblr, I'd appreciate your support in getting this as many views as possible!  
> Link: http://mysticmoonhigh.tumblr.com/post/94797018931/fallen-angels-and-rising-demons-dean-winchester

Cas's reign as king beside Charlie was very fulfilling. When he stepped down from the throne, he ended up getting knighted with Dean. It took a lot of hard work and effort, but they both enjoyed fighting and socializing in the friendly environment that the SCA provided.

 

One surprise was that Dean was now an uncle. Jess had gotten pregnant two years after the wedding. Dean felt absolutely elated as the baby was passed into his arms in the hospital. Sam's eyes shone with pride and adoration.

 

Dean now owned the mechanic's shop, Bobby having retired (by force from a close friend of his, Ellen, who turned out to be Jo's mom. Small world). Garth handled the appointments, and Benny was his head mechanic. They both knew about him and Cas, and they were encouraging and supportive, even if they did occasionally make jokes or tease him about how he was walking funny. Dean really couldn't argue with it.

 

Cas made it hard to forget the night before sometimes. (Don't get me wrong; Dean loved it when he went hard).

 

Dean and Cas were making plans to travel the world together. They had agreed that they would never live the same year twice; they would go out and have adventures and bring home stories of the great unknown. They would tell their niece about that time Cas got lost in Mexico City or when Dean accidentally rented a prostitute in Japan. Okay, so maybe some of the stories would be saved for when she was older. Still.

 

Around three years had passed since the original incident. Dean was driving Castiel, in early June, to his birthday present. The windows were rolled down to let the air flow through the car, and the smell of the outdoors only increased the further and further into the country they got.

 

“Where are we going? Dean, it can't possibly be this far out of town.” Cas said, once they had passed his usual honey spot. He figured it would be there, but they still had a couple of miles to go. Dean let a small smile appear on his face; he couldn't wait to see the look on Cas's when he realizes everything Dean has planned. Dean knows he'll be sad to leave the apartments and Chuck, but it was really time. They'd been saving to move somewhere better for three years. Of course, what Cas doesn't know is that Dean has been setting back just a little extra every once in awhile so they could do it sooner.

 

“You'll see soon.” Dean promised, smiling.

 

Approximately two minutes later, (two minutes of Cas looking out the side of the car and totally not pouting), they pulled into the driveway. Cas leaned forward, peering through the windshield, frowning.

 

“Where is this?” He asked, gesturing towards it. It had a large, enclosed porch covered in plants. The house itself was small, a family room, kitchen, dining room, two bathrooms and a bedroom, but it was the perfect size for them. The path leading up to the door was cobblestone and an abundance of trees grew about a hundred feet out the back of the house, giving it the appearance of a forest. Their own, very small, forest.

 

“Home.” Dean responded. The statement clicked. Cas's eyes widened and his head bobbed in shock.

 

“You didn't.” Cas says, skeptically. Dean smiled in response, and Cas immediately turned, pushing open the door and stepping out. His eyes scanned the land, scanned the slightly overrun (okay, so pretty darn overrun) garden, weeds popping up. He looked at the cracked paint and at the trees looming ahead. Suddenly, Dean felt a little self-conscious. He didn't technically sign anything yet, just in case Cas didn't like it, but... He'd really though Cas would love it.

 

“I mean, if you want it to be home.” Dean said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. His feet shuffled awkwardly. “I didn't actually make anything official yet, so if you don't like it we can just look for someplace together. I mean, we have the money is the important part of the gif-”

 

Cas held up a hand, eyes never leaving the property. Dean shut his mouth, sighing in exasperation. When was Cas gonna stop with the analyzation crap and actually talk to him for christ's sake, he felt like he had just turned in a test that he knew he had failed. It would be better for the teacher to just tell him then he had a bad grade.

 

“I love it. This is literally perfect. It has just the right environment for bees.” Cas said. He turned to Dean, excitement flickering in his eyes. Dean had learned to pick up on this much more subtle sign of excitement over the years. “Can we go inside?”

 

Dean nodded his head. “The guy who's selling the place says that there's not much to steal, so he left the key under a fake rock. Let's go.”

 

Dean put his arm around Castiel's shoulders, feeling a bit smug. Cas looked like he was really gonna like this place, even if it was a bit of a fixer upper. The gardens needed done, the walls pretty much all needed repainted, a couple of rooms needed new carpet, but Dean knew they could make it work. It was perfect for them. More than that, it was perfect for their future. Dean liked the idea of staying here.

 

And, of course, Cas did too.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took a month, in total, to move into the house. Boxes were still strewn about, papers still littered the small wooden table they had gotten (The tables from their house were all either _too_ small, or so big they would take up half of the tiny dining room). Dean stood, sweating, boxes nestled in corners and cabinets and basically anywhere they could fit them. The wifi company would be out later in the week to install, and Sam, Jess, and the entire Guild had somehow managed to invite themselves over in two days.

 

Dean and Cas worked hard to get unpacked enough to have them over.

 

When the day came, Sam came strolling in, a small pink bundle wrapped in his arms. Jess was right behind him, a big pan of homemade brownies clutched in her hands. She smiled at him, and Sam looked at her like she was the sun. Dean knew that Sam had never been happier in his life.

 

“Where should I put the brownies?” She asked, softly. Dean smiled warmly and took them himself, gesturing towards the couch.

 

“You two should go sit down. I'll take care of this.” He offered. Sam looked at him skeptically, and he put up the hand that wasn't holding the brownie case in fake exasperation. “Hey, what did I do?”

 

“By taking care of them, you'd better not mean you're going to eat them all yourself. My wife worked hard to make those brownies.” Sam said, raising his eyebrows into bitchface #6. “She wouldn't even let me help. She practically threw me out of the kitchen for trying.”

 

“That's because she hasn't gotten you a hairnet, Sammy.” Dean said, clipping him on the shoulder. Jess laughed, and Dean walked away feeling proud of the interaction. He walked into the kitchen and set the brownies on the counter, taking out a knife and setting it next to the pan. Most of the other stuff was self-serve, (Dean had yet to grill the burgers because everyone wasn't scheduled to be there for another half an hour, but that was soon to be done) so the brownies could be, too.

 

Dean, while he was in the kitchen, glanced enviously at the pie Cas had made. He knew he would be rewarded soon, though, and set out to grill the burgers. Sam could open the door if anyone got there early now, so there was no point in waiting to get started. He walked out to the back porch, seeing Cas pulling weeds methodically out of the ground. A bag of fertilizer sat propped up on a nearby tree for when he finished the job. Dean reached down and ruffled his sweaty hair affectionately, and Cas looked up, slightly startled.

 

“Youo should probably take a shower now. Sam's got the door while I cook. Everyone will be here soon.” Dean informed him, walking over to the grill and beginning to mess with the dials. A hand on the base of his back caused him to turn sharply.

 

He breathed out a sigh of relief when he realized it was just Cas. He straightened up, attempting to make his voice unaffectionate. “Cas, dammit, you scare the living hell out of me. Please make some noise next time.”

 

“Apologies.” Cas said, flatly. He then leaned forward, pressing a large, wet kiss to the side of Dean's mouth. “I'm going to go take a shower now.”

 

Cas disappeared then, slipping through the door. Dean smiled, turning back to the grill. He was going to marry that man some day.

 

Some day hopefully soon, if the ring sitting in the top of the closet had anything to do with it.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Soon, the house was bustling with activity. Jo and Ash were playfully fighting, (more like bickering like an old married couple if you ask Dean), Charlie was listening to Sam talk about the baby starting to crawl, and Dean, Cas and Jess were all three still eating. Jess was complaining about cravings still being there even after the pregnancy. Dean and Cas shared a significant look.

 

Because three months after having a baby was _not_ too early to be having another one.

 

Finally, everyone was done eating and gathered in the living room. They were all a little tired, and uncertain as to what to talk about. Finally, Ash sat up a little straighter, deciding it was time for somebody to suggest something. “Hey, do you losers have Cards Against Humanity?”

 

“Yes. Would you like me to retrieve it?” Castiel questioned. There was a general muttering of approval. Cas rose and walked over to the closet, shuffling his feet on the way there. He opened it slowly to make sure nothing would come tumbling out, and suddenly, something occurred to Dean.

 

He stood up faster than he ever had before, heading for the closet himself. “Hey Cas, I can get it. I mean, I'm taller than you and everything-”  
  


Dean had no sooner started speaking than Cas grabbed the box, giving it a tug. As the box came off of the top of the shelf, Another, smaller, hidden box came tumbling down with it. The small box hit Cas in the face, literally _as_ he was looking at Dean, wondering why he suddenly wanted to get the game. He jumped, stepping backwards and glaring at the small box on the ground as everyone's chatter went down to silence. His look turned to confused when he realized he didn't recognize it.

 

“What's this?” Castiel asked, bending down to pick it up. Dean reached for it but Cas held up the gameboard with the other hand, raising a finger with it. Dean felt his stomach sink to his feet; Cas wasn't supposed to find out until he decided how to propose. Looked like now he wouldn't have a choice.

 

Castiel opened up the box, revealing a beautiful silver ring. It was simple, a small leafy pattern etched into the metal. When he lifted it from the box, he could just barely make out the word “Castiel” etched into the metal. His eyes were scrutinous as they devoured the piece offered, and he turned it delicately in his hand, the game still tucked under his elbow. “What is it for?”

 

Dean tried to speak, but found he could not, He could only make vague gestures towards it and make a couple of small, struggling sounds. Finally, realization dawned on Cas's expression. He held the ring a little closer. “It's a wedding ring. You were going to propose.”

 

“Well...” Dean started, and then got a little overwhelmed again. All he could choke out was a small, “Yeah?”

 

He finally snapped out of the trance, gaining a little bit of his own common sense. “You don't have to answer now. I was planning on doing this when we were alone, and in a better place for it, and you wouldn't feel pressured, but... Uh... Yeah. We can talk about this. Later.”

 

“No.” Castiel said commandingly. Dean felt his heart begin to sink. “We're not talking about it later. Because there's nothing to discuss. My answer is yes.”

 

Dean smiled, grabbing Cas and pulling him into a hug. Cas melted into the contact, nuzzling Dean in an action that was highly affectionate for him. They pulled away and not a moment was wated before they were kissing, Dean smiling like an idiot against his lips. They only pulled away when Ash and Jo started to make loud and inappropriate sexual innuendos.

 

Dean took the ring from Cas's hands, and Cas uncaringly dropped the box to the floor as his left wrist was grabbed. Dean slipped the ring on, happy when he found that it fit like a glove. He placed another small kiss to Cas's forehead before their intimate moment was over, and they were met by a hum of congradulations by their small group of friends.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As soon as everyone left, Cas slammed Dean up against the wall. Lips were hot and insistent as they sucked on Dean's neck, provoking a response from his body that was nearly immediate. Cas began to slowly grind their hips together, both of them quickly hardening. Dean knew tonight was going to be rough and passionate; just how he liked it.

 

Cas continued to rock against him, creating a rhythm of sucking on his neck and grinding at the same pace. Dean felt his knees go weak. Looked like Cas was topping this time around.

 

“S-Stop.” Dean managed to get out. Cas did so, pulling away with a confused look. Dean felt his face begin to turn bright red, and he looked down, shuffling his feet. God, this was embarrassing.

 

“What is it? Did I do something wrong?” Cas questioned, stepping away. Dean nodded his head no, still not quite able to form the words in his throat. “Then what?”

 

“I...” Dean mumbled something unintelligible, “ _Iwanttowearthepanties._ ” He finished, in a big rush. Castiel's head tilted just the smallest bit, before the words clicked.

 

“Of course. Why don't you go put on the blue pair?” Cas said. Dean nodded his head, and immediately began walking to their bedroom. As followed most of the way, but didn't go in the door. Dean shut it behind him, to give himself some privacy. He rummaged through their drawers, quickly locating the satin, ocean-blue panties he'd stuffed under all the other clothes. He had four more pair hidden amongst his clothes, but these were still by far his favourites.

 

He slid off his pants, stepping out of them, before very gently pulling up the panties. He tried not to concentrate on the pull of satin against his skin, or the way the frills felt nestled inbetween his thighs and along his hip bones, but it was hard. Ever since Cas had convinced him a year ago to try wearing them, he'd been hooked. He quickly tucked his hard cock back into the fabric, letting out a shaky breath as he walked back towards the door.

 

He let it slowly swing open, turning before he could see Castiel's hungry expression. He sauntered towards the bed, feeling eyes on him the whole way there. He dropped into the soft sheets, turning onto his back. His eyes were closed at this point, but he was still acutely aware of Castiel's presence.

 

His breathing hitched when the bed drooped, but he kept his eyes closed. Even as Castiel's hands ran up his legs, worshiping every inch of his body, tugging at his shirt until Dean sat up to help him get it off.

 

Finally, Dean was shaking. He had been touched everywhere except where he wanted it most, and Cas was currently planting hot and wet kisses across his hipbones. He let out a long, needy groan, bucking his hips a little to try and get his point across.

 

“Look at me.” Castiel said. Dean's eyes flickered open on command, taking a deep breath. Cas slowly scooted down to his bulge, never breaking eye contact with Dean. His hair was messy and unkempt and his lips bright red and swollen as they closed over the bulging fabric, sending a wave of heat to Dean's dick.

 

Dean threw his head back, feeling his cock give a throb against the fabric. He was panting heavily, and he felt like he was going to explode at any minute. He finally got sick of waiting and reached over to the side dresser, grabbing the bottle of lube. He waved it at Castiel, and Cas pulled off of his cock.

 

“Fuck me, please.” Dean said, breathlessly. Cas smirked, nodding his head.

 

“Hands and knees.” He commanded. Dean did as he was told. Cas scooted off and he rolled over, ass in the air as his forearms rested against the bed sheet. He buried his head in the pillow and let out a soft groan as he heard the lube being uncapped. He needed Cas inside of him, _now,_ dammit. He shifted his hips impatiently as Cas coated his fingers.

 

Finally, he felt the lace slowly pulled down, just far enough so that Cas could reach his hole. Cas slowly pressed one digit against it, waiting until Dean pushed back before he actually started to push in. Dean tried to relax his muscles, impatient with the task of prep. A second finger entered as slowly as the first, and Dean's hands slowly turned to fists on the sheets. It was starting to feel really good; Cas's fingers were pushing up against his prostate repetitively now, scissoring apart as they opened him up for something much bigger.

 

“Just fuck me already, _please,_ I'm ready.” Dean finally forced himself to say. Cas's fingers pulled out before they moved to lube up Cas's member, making sure that Dean would feel comfortable with the intrusion. His hands moved to grip Dean's thighs as He lined the head of his cock up with Dean's entrance, letting out a hiss of pleasure. Dean tried to spread his legs further for easier access, but found that the panties kept his thighs firmly pushed together. The satin rubbed up against his cock still, and he let out a groan.

 

With that, Cas finally began to slowly thrust in. His nails left small crescent moon shapes on Dean's hips as he slowly thrust inch after inch into Dean's eager body, and Dean struggled to relax himself. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, letting out a small, contented sound as Cas bottomed out. He felt so full and good, Cas's head just barely pushing against his prostate...

 

“Move.” He said, wiggling his hips impatiently. Cas slowly began to pull out, until only the tip remained, and then thrust back in. Dean let out a long, drawn out moan at the sensation. Cas had perfected absolutely _drilling_ into his prostate as of late, and used it to his full advantage whenever Dean let him top.

 

“God Cas, faster please,” He said, feeling with every rock the lace rub against his still straining cock. Cas happily obliged, beginning to pick up the pace. In and out, in and out, a little harder, _oh god that's the spot_. Dean let out long and breathy moans of Cas's name, praise falling from his lips as Cas's speed rose higher and higher.

 

It wasn't long until Dean was being fucked in earnest. The bed was creaking and banging against the wall with Castiel's every thrust, moans and pleas were falling from Dean's lips as he rocked his hips back to meet every thrust. Castiel was controlled and precise as he snapped his hips in and out, buried in the glorious heat of Dean. He let his head rest on Dean's shoulder blades, letting out small moans and groans as he felt his own pleasure grow. It wouldn't be too much longer now before he was cumming.

 

He reached around Dean's body, hearing a strangled cry as he found his target. He began to gently caress and rub Dean's now leaking erection through the silky fabric. Dean felt it rub up against his skin, hot and slick and _perfect,_ and he couldn't take it any more. He let out a long, drawn out moan as he came, pleasure slowly spiraling out to the very tips of his toes.

 

Cas came inside of him, his seed shooting deep as Dean's muscles spasmed, milking every last drop out of his cock. He let out a groan, hips continuing to thrust as he worked to ride out his own orgasm and make sure Dean got to ride out his. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was done.

 

Cas slowly pulled out, his cock going soft inside of Dean's warmth. He groaned and fell to the side, looking over at his soon to be husband. The silver of the ring glowed softly in the dim light, a reminder of the promise they made today. Castiel let out a sleepy smile.

 

“I love you.” He mumbled, closing his eyes. Dean couldn't bring himself to say it to anyone, no matter how much he knew it to be true. So, he just smiled, putting an arm around Cas. The gesture showed more than words ever really could; meant a million more things to Cas. Cas slowly faded off into sleep.

 

Just because Dean couldn't say it to anyone, didn't stop it from being true. And as soon as Cas was asleep, as if it were the most treasured secret in the world, Dean whispered, “I love you, too.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review, for old time's sakes? Hehe, look at me getting sentimental. If you really want to make me smile, you should tell me what your favourite part of the fic was ^_^  
> Oh, and be looking out for my next fic! Should be out (completed and posted in one chapter, it's going to be a fairly short fic but still too long to be considered a 'oneshot' really) around the start of season ten at the very latest.


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